#clark being the star but super stressed by expectations

[cucuxumusu]

No, but sports AU? Bruce as the new captain of the 'Gotham Knights⚔️' who hadn't won anything in ten years. Clark as the rising star of the 'Metropolis FC🌇' making the team rely on him so much they don't even prepare for the match cos, well, it's Gotham, lol.

Then the match comes and Gotham fucking cleans the floor with them, cos Bruce has studied his enemy like the freak he is, and they had no fucking chance.

Clark gets angry and frustrated with his own team. He finds Bruce in the backstage, they start arguing, it develops into shouting, and suddenly they are making out hard, and dirty, and violently. Clark is instantly ashamed, questioning his sexuality and life, but it's okay, because it was just one (1) mistake, and he is not going to see the asshole again.

Then the next season comes by and he gets sold to the Gotham Knights (who had won the league and suddenly has $) as their new star, and things get complicated.

[multiverseforger]

Edit

In November 2013, Marvel Comics announced that Kamala Khan, a teenage American Muslim from Jersey City, New Jersey, would take over the comic book series Ms. Marvel beginning in February 2014. The series, written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona, marked the first time a Muslim character headlined a book at Marvel Comics.[2] However, Noelene Clark of the Los Angeles Times noted that Khan is not the first Muslim character in comic books, which include Simon Baz, Dust and M.[3] The conception of Kamala Khan came about during a conversation between Marvel editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker. Amanat said, "I was telling him [Wacker] some crazy anecdote about my childhood, growing up as a Muslim American. He found it hilarious." The pair then told Wilson about the concept and Wilson became eager to jump aboard the project.[4] Amanat said that the series came from a "desire to explore the Muslim-American diaspora from an authentic perspective."[5]

Artist Jamie McKelvie based Khan's design on his redesign of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel and on Dave Cockrum's design of the original Ms. Marvel.[6] Amanat requested that the design "reflected the Captain Marvel legacy, and also her story and her background."[7] Amanat stated that Khan's costume was influenced by the shalwar kameez. They wanted the costume to represent her cultural identity, but did not want her to wear a hijab,[8] because the majority of teenage Pakistani-American girls do not wear one.[9] Amanat also stated that they wanted the character to look "less like a sex siren" to appeal to a more vocal female readership.[8]

Marvel knew that they wanted a young Muslim girl, but stated that she could be from any place of origin and have any background. Wilson initially considered making her an Arab girl from Dearborn, Michigan but ultimately chose to create a Desi girl from Jersey City.[10] Jersey City, which sits across the Hudson River from Manhattan, has been referred to as New York City's "Sixth borough".[11][12][13] It therefore forms an important part of Khan's identity and the narrative journey of her character since most of Marvel Comics' stories are set in Manhattan. Wilson explains, "A huge aspect of Ms. Marvel is being a 'second string hero' in the 'second string city' and having to struggle out of the pathos and emotion that can give a person."[14]

The series not only explores Khan's conflicts with supervillains but also explores conflicts with Khan's home and religious duties. Wilson, a convert to Islam, said "This is not evangelism. It was really important for me to portray Kamala as someone who is struggling with her faith." Wilson continued, "Her brother is extremely conservative, her mom is paranoid that she's going to touch a boy and get pregnant, and her father wants her to concentrate on her studies and become a doctor."[4] Amanat added,

As much as Islam is a part of Kamala's identity, this book isn't preaching about religion or the Islamic faith in particular. It's about what happens when you struggle with the labels imposed on you, and how that forms your sense of self. It's a struggle we've all faced in one form or another, and isn't just particular to Kamala because she's Muslim. Her religion is just one aspect of the many ways she defines herself.[2]



First appearance of Kamala Khan from Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013) by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Scott Hepburn

In the series, Khan takes the name Ms. Marvel from Carol Danvers, who now goes by the alias Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue DeConnick revealed that Khan actually made a brief appearance in Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013) saying, "Kamala is in the background of a scene in Captain Marvel 14 ... She is very deliberately placed in a position where she sees Carol protecting civilians from Yon-Rogg."[15] According to Wilson, Khan idolizes Carol so when Khan acquires superhuman abilities, she emulates Danvers.[14] "Captain Marvel represents an ideal that Kamala pines for. She's strong, beautiful and doesn't have any of the baggage of being Pakistani and 'different,'"[4] Wilson explained. "Khan is a big comic book fan and after she discovers her superhuman power – being a polymorph and able to lengthen her arms and legs and change her shape – she takes on the name of Ms. Marvel," Amanat elaborated.[16] Khan is one of several characters who discover that they have Inhuman heritage following the "Inhumanity" storyline, in which the Terrigen Mists are released throughout the world and activate dormant Inhuman cells.[17]

In the series' first story arc, Khan faces off against Mr. Edison / the Inventor, an amalgam of man and bird. Wilson created the Inventor to be Khan's first arch rival in order to mirror Khan's own complexity. Wilson characterizes the Inventor, and the overall visual look of the opening story arc as "kooky and almost Miyazaki-esque at times", owing to the art style of illustrator Adrian Alphona, which balances the drama of the threats which Khan faces with the humor of Alphona's "tongue in cheek sight gags." During the storyline, Khan also teams-up with the X-Man Wolverine against the Inventor. Because Wolverine is dealing with the loss of his healing factor during this time, Khan is placed in the position of having to shoulder much of the responsibilities, as Wilson felt this was a role reversal that would subvert reader expectations that Wolverine would take the lead in such a team-up.[18]

At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, writer Dan Slott announced that Khan would team-up with Spider-Man beginning in The Amazing Spider-Man #7 (October 2014) during the "Spider-Verse" storyline. Slott characterized Khan "the closest character to classic Peter Parker,"[19] explaining, "She's a teenage superhero, juggling her life, making mistakes, trying to do everything right."[20]

Beginning in June 2015, Ms. Marvel tied into the "Secret Wars" crossover event with the "Last Days" storyline, which details Khan's account of the end of the Marvel Universe. Wilson explained, "In the 'Last Days' story arc, Kamala has to grapple with the end of everything she knows, and discover what it means to be a hero when your whole world is on the line."[21] In the storyline, Khan rushes to deal with the threat in Manhattan. However, Wilson revealed, "She will face a very personal enemy as the chaos in Manhattan spills over into Jersey City, and she will be forced to make some very difficult choices. There will also be a very special guest appearance by a superhero Kamala—and the fans—have been waiting to meet for a long time."[22]

In March 2015, Marvel announced that Khan will join the Avengers in All-New All-Different Avengers FCBD (May 2015) by writer Mark Waid and artists Adam Kubert and Mahmud Asrar, which takes place in the aftermath of "Secret Wars".[23] A second volume of Ms. Marvel starring Khan by Wilson, Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa is also debuted following "Secret Wars" as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different Marvel initiative.[24] Amanat said,

By the time this new launch comes around, it will have been almost two years since the premiere of Ms. Marvel—and boy, has Kamala Khan been through a lot since then. She's been slowly coming into her own, dealing with the challenges of navigating adulthood and being a super hero. But her training is over now and it's time for the big leagues; the question is can she handle it? ... As much as Kamala has a right to be there—it's still a bit of a culture shock. Dreaming of being an Avenger and then suddenly being one is a lot to take on for someone of her age. So, she'll be a little awestruck, a little overly ambitious.[25]

In March 2016, Marvel announced that Ms. Marvel would tie into the "Civil War II" storyline by releasing a promotional image illustrating a rift between Khan and Danvers.[26] "While "Civil War II" may have initiated this rift, we've known for some time that Kamala would eventually need to separate herself from her idols. Her journey centers around self-discovery and identity, and a part of that exploration includes separating yourself from those you put on pedestals. The rift between Carol and Kamala doesn't really have to do with right and wrong. It has to do with growing up and realizing that you perceive the world differently from even the ones you love," Amanat elaborated.[27]

In July, Marvel announced that Khan will join the Champions, a team of teenage superheroes who split off from the Avengers following the conclusion of "Civil War II". The team, featured in a series by writer Mark Waid and artist Humberto Ramos, consists of Khan, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Nova (Sam Alexander), Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Viv Vision, and a teenage version of Cyclops. Waid said, "The first three are the kids who quit the Avengers proper. That was an easy get. Those three, in and of themselves, form a nice little subteam. Their dynamic is great. They all show up in each other's books, and even though they have their arguments and stress points, clearly they're good together."[28]

In August, Khan made an appearance in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #10 by writers Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare. In the issue, Khan acts as a mentor to Moon Girl (Lunella Lafayette) who is also a young Inhuman that suddenly came into her powers. Amanat stated that Khan sees much of herself in Lafayette and by teaching her, Khan learns much about herself.[27]

In November, Marvel announced that Khan will join a new incarnation of the Secret Warriors in a series by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Javier Garron that debuted in May 2017. The team, formed in the wake of the "Inhumans vs X-Men" storyline, also includes Quake, Karnak, Moon Girl, and Devil Dinosaur. Rosenberg stated that there is some conflict and friction amongst the team members explaining, "Ms. Marvel and Quake are really fighting for the soul of the team in a lot of ways, while Moon Girl will continue to really do her own thing. They will all be tested and challenged, they are superheroes after all, but they are going to do things their way."[29]

In March 2017, Marvel announced that Khan would team-up with Danvers in a one-shot issue of the limited anthology series, Generations by Wilson and Paolo Villanelle. Wilson stated that the issue would explore Danvers' and Khan's mentor–student relationship, but "at its heart, [it] is about growing up, and a big part of growing up is discovering that your idols have feet of clay – and forgiving them for their flaws as you gain an adult understanding of your own."[30]

In December, Ms. Marvel began the "Teenage Wasteland" story arc, as part of the Marvel Legacy relaunch. Wilson said, "Since the events of 'Civil War II', there's been friction between Kamala and her mentor, Captain Marvel. In this arc, we're exploring how complicated legacies can be when they're passed from generation to generation ... She's questioning a lot about herself and her mission. Her friends end up stepping into some very important—and unexpected—roles. So in a sense, the arc is really about a bunch of chronically under-estimated teenagers who pull together to fight evil."[31]

Ms. Marvel #31, the 50th issue of Ms. Marvel featuring Khan was released in June 2018. To mark the occasion, Marvel brought in additional collaborators for the issue including writers: G. Willow Wilson, Saladin Ahmed, Rainbow Rowell, and Hasan Minhaj; and artists: Nico Leon, Bob Quinn, Gustavo Duarte, and Elmo Bondoc.[32]

Beginning in March 2019, Khan headlined a new series titled, The Magnificent Ms. Marvel, written by Ahmed and illustrated by Minkyu Jung. Wilson stated that she had been planning her departure from the series for over a year, stating that she originally anticipated that the series would only last for ten issues and was excited by the fact that she had written 60 issues. Ahmed said the new series will have much wider scope, "while still maintaining that intimate tone that people have loved about it."[33]

In July 2020, Marvel announced that Khan would star in an original graphic novel, published in conjunction with Scholastic and aimed at younger readers. The book will be written by author Nadia Shammas. An illustrator has not yet been named.[34

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

♫ Surfing on a soundwave, Swinging through the stars, Take a left at your intestine, Take your second right past mars!

On the Magic School smelly space bus! ♫

SPOILERS for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #2!

This is a comic where, the longer I sit with a particular issue, the more I’m like, ‘yeah. Yeah. YEAH.’

It’s dense in a way that invites the reader to go through it multiple times, and rewards additional readthroughs.

Also, it helps that the art is FREAKING AMAZING.

Seriously. Evely and Lopes should draw and color everything, forever, always.

(I will honestly be shocked if they don’t get an Eisner nom for this book.)

Anyways, all of this to say: Another issue that I enjoyed. It has one of the most genuinely sweet Supergirl moments I’ve seen in the comics in a good long while.

So, if you’re looking for a quick thumbs up/thumbs down rating, thumbs up!

If you’d like some SPECIFICS, though...

THE STORY

King is an evil genius because we don’t pick up where we left off--rather, we start in the midst of the Space Bus journey.

There is technically a Big Action Scene, but I was honestly surprised by how...casually? the story progressed.

Essentially: Kara and Ruthye are forced to travel by bus because 1.) Krem stole Kara’s rocket and 2.) this corner of the universe doesn’t have the right stars, so Kara’s still recovering from being under a red sun for an extended period of time.

The bus makes occasional stops; they encounter a space dragon; Kara takes some Red Kryptonite and saves the day; they eventually arrive on a planet with a yellow sun. 

And again, all of this occurs with a kind of...breezy ease that I was not expecting at all.

I assumed that the space dragon fight would make up the final moments of the issue, after having built up the problem to a point where Kara needed to intervene.

But, noooope. The space dragon happens somewhere in the middle, which helps sell the central idea that this is simply Kara’s life. She’s been there, done that. She’s a badass who takes it all in stride.

But! Important to note! Ruthye still marvels at the sight of Kara taking out the space dragon, as well she should, because:

OH MY GOD. THE aRT.

There’s only so many times I can say, ‘it’s phenomenal, it’s gorgeous, it’s stunning’ before sounding like a broken record.

But it is. It truly is. This is the prettiest monthly book on the stands right now.

(Realizing I’ve been spelling Ruthye wrong this entire time, maybe? IDK. Apologies if I have.)

It’s in the final moments of the book that we learn what transpired after Krem shot Kara and Krypto and fled: Kara managed to get Krypto and Ruthye to a healer, and then passed out for a week. 

Ruthye and Kara recovered, buuuuut...

Krypto is still very near death because the arrow was poisoned.

The healer can’t treat him until he has a sample of the poison.

Which Krem has.

(See where this is going?)

So! Kara regains her powers! Ruthye has a super on her side! KRYPTO’S LIFE HANGS IN THE BALANCE!

Gimme. Issue. 3. STAT.

THE CHARACTERS

Very much enjoyed Ruthye in this issue!

There’s a really tricky balancing act you gotta pull off when writing child characters; you don’t want to just write them as tiny adults, but you also don’t want to be obnoxious or cloying in trying to write ‘true-to-age.’

King gives himself a bit of a cheat, by setting her up as a rock farmer from a...what would you call it. An old-fashioned planet? And thus the kind of character who had to ‘grow up fast’ and behaves more maturely than your typical pre-teen might.

BUT! IMPORTANTLY! This is tempered by placing Ruthye in situations where her (understandable) ignorance is challenged/put to the test. Like, yes, she is mature, and well-spoken, and utterly tenacious, but she’s also out of her depth, and still in need of help and guidance.

(Which is how we get to The Best Scene which I’ll get to in just a sec.)

TL;DR - this issue has really sold me on Ruthye as our POV character and I am officially Invested in the relationship between her and Kara.

Speaking of...

It’s KARA-CTERIZATION TIME!

So, okay. There’s some ‘eh’ stuff in this one, but, BUT!

We got the goods again.

And by ‘goods’ I mean this:

Whatever other nitpicks I have (and I do! Have one! Which I’ll get to!) THIS. This right here! This is Supergirl. This is Kara.

And what a beautiful line to introduce this moment:

“And it began--as most things begin when you’re dealing with Supergirl--with a moment of kindness.”

It’s the same gentle concern we saw in the previous issue, where Kara knelt down to address Ruthye eye-to-eye. 

Here, Kara’s facial expression, and the way she takes Ruthye’s hands and shows her what to do...

It’s just. SO SWEET.

Ahhhhh it’s so good. :D

So good! In fact! That the above scene offsets my one complaint, which is that Kara came off as harsh, IMO, when addressing the bus passengers, looking for Red K. 

Other good stuff from this particular portion of the book: we get Kryptonese (maybe? I think?) And a mention of Kara’s mother being strict about certain things, which is in keeping with the 2000s series version of Alura.

Ruthye also asks if Kara ever tried to avenge the death of her family/culture and she says no; Ruthye says that she heard a lifetime of regret in Kara’s response, which I suppose could be read one of two ways:

1.) That she regrets her choice not to avenge them, or 2.) that she regrets not having the option to avenge them, as there was no one person to punch, no single action that could rectify the destruction of the entire planet.

I personally prefer the second reading.

Which I suppose contradicts the recent-ish “Killers of Krypton” arc, but who knows what is and isn’t canon anymore, honestly. XD

As for the rest of the issue! I found myself thinking of a Grant Morrison interview, actually.

Morrison apparently met a Superman cosplayer at a con and that’s when the character clicked for them: “[The superman cosplayer] was so in the character, but what really got me was the way he was sitting. It was this absolutely relaxed pose with one knee up and the arm bent over, and that’s what broke Superman for me. Suddenly I realized that Superman wouldn’t be a poser, he wouldn’t be a Muscle Beach steroid guy; he’d actually be completely relaxed because nothing could hurt him. He could be so open and friendly to everyone because no one can punch him or hurt him. He can’t get a cold, or be damaged by anything you’re carrying or wearing. For me that was the power of that, whether you want to frame it as magical or not, it actually informed the stories I wanted to write. I felt I understood him in a way I hadn’t until that moment.”

That’s always stuck with me, the idea that Clark would be the most at-ease, chill guy you'd ever talk to.

And THAT, I think, is what we’re seeing here with Kara. That at-ease-ness.

But in a way that is distinct from Clark! In the above quote, it’s clear that Morrison thinks it’s Clark’s powers that are the reason he can be so relaxed and at ease.

But Kara is de-powered here. So why is she so chill?

Because Kara is an alien.

Kara’s in her element, here. She’s used to space travel, she knows the ins-and-outs, she’s not shocked by any of the weird stuff they encounter on their journey. 

Love it. LOVE. IT.

I am SO GLAD that King decided to go with Kara being the wizened mentor, as opposed to the naïve kid learning to be tough. It’s a much more interesting angle, IMO.

Also NO MENTION OF RIVALRY BETWEEN KARA AND CLARK. WOO. LET’S KEEP THIS ROLLIN’.

Alright, last, but certainly not least:

THE GOOD BOY! KRYPTO!

When I tell you I stress-read this entire comic first thing in the morning...XD

And I am STILL stressed. And a little sad that Krypto doesn’t get to go on another space adventure but! This is MIGHTY PREFERABLE to what I *thought* was going to happen, which is that Krypto would die from his injuries, and Kara would likewise be out for revenge. 

Fortunately, that is not the case! 

So like, the stakes?!?! Suddenly sky high. Find that dirtbag Krem and GET THAT POISON BACK TO THE HEALER!!

ART and MISC. STUFF THAT I LOVE

I generally don’t like to post entire pages of a comic, or panels without context, but the...reach? of this blog is extremely limited so. I think we’ll be okay. XD

So, alright! Some moments that I particularly enjoyed!

One of the panels that Mat Lopes shared early on! 

I want this lettered version on a mug.

(Also she looks very ’Grace Kelly-ish’ here.)

Love Kara’s facial expression and her line about space travel being more fun when you can fly.

From the same portion of the book--such a neat detail that Kara keeps her cash in her sleeve!

Another set of panels that I think Tom King shared a few months back.

Love Kara’s little smirk, and the, “I’m wearing a big yellow S on my chest, and a very fashionable red skirt.”

It IS fashionable. WE SUPPORT THE SKIRT, IN THIS HOUSE.

Also the slrrrrrrp. XD

It’s good.

Okay, 1.) VERY COOL SCI-FI DESIGN and 2.) that line is great. “Can you feel it, Ruthye? We’re getting closer. The stars are changing.”

Mmmm, them good cosmic Kara vibes.

Kara’s attitude about the Red K here is fun, like, ‘WELP, sometimes you turn into a monster, sometimes you don’t!’ but again, the line is what gets me.

“Did my hair move?”

“I do not believe so.”

XD

Honestly? I could post the whole comic here. Evely’s vision of ‘public transit, but space’ is just so immediately...not ‘real’, necessarily, because there’s such a fantastical element to it all, but it is fully realized. I think I used the phrase ‘lived-in’ and that’s it--this world feels like it has always existed; every grimy nook and cranny, every rando space bus traveler.

And Mat Lopes’ colors!

There are like, five distinct color palettes at work in this issue, and Lopes handles them all masterfully.

I think my favorite is the...I’ll call it ‘ethereal space aquarium’ lighting in the bus as they view the space dragon.

The glow and the shadows and the blues and pinks...

GGGGGGGGAAAHHHHHHHHHH so goooooooood

So, yeah. :D

I am very much enjoying this weird, wild ride with small, precocious Ruthye and wizened, crusty Kara. XD There’s some stuff that I don’t *love* but my goodness, it could be a lot worse!

Let us end on the beautiful title page:

[portmanteaurian]

June 2021 Books

Iiii hit a rut with reading this month, I’m not gonna lie. I got caught up in a bunch of music-related stuff (read my good post!) and work and the general existential stress of being an Indigenous person in “Canada” right now. But I did read sixteen things, even if a lot of them were either rereads or short. The highlights below

Cheating a bit to shout out Melissa Scott and Lisa Barnett’s Astreiant series -- only one truly hits that 4-star mark for me that is my normal cut-off, but they’re fun queer procedural mysteries in a super-detailed fantasy setting. I’ve read them before but revisiting them earlier this month was nice.

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Rebecca Guay was just an absolutely beautiful book artistically, I love Guay’s style. The story was...played significantly straighter than I expected, subversions I was anticipating did not come. But it was a solid story.

Cat Sebastian’s The Queer Principles of Kit Webb was cute. Not my favourite thing of hers I’ve read but a good light read and enjoyably pointed in its “rich landowners are bad” thesis.

Drastically different, Angie Schmitt’s Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America was an excellent look at urban design and the people urban policymakers consider “disposable”. Entirely US-centric, but there’s lessons that are applicable here in Canada as well, and if you’re in the states I recommend it very highly.

Cabaret: The Illustrated Book and Lyrics by Joe Masteroff, John Kander, and Fred Ebb is just...Cabaret is one of my very favourite musicals, this revival was really well concepted, and this book presents the text of the show in a really slick and visually appealing format. I owned it previously but lost it years ago; replaced my copy by shopping from used bookstores online and am glad to have done so.

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho is a contemporary fantasy set in Malaysia, which is a significant departure from her previous work that I’ve read and loved. I was super curious how it would turn out and I’m pleased to report I really liked it! Fantastic character dynamics, which I expected, and a good story about cultural traditions, relating to family, and cycles of abuse.

And finally for this one, P. Djeli Clark’s Master of Djinn was just a lot of fun. Supernatural detective adventure in an alternate early-20th-century Cairo. He’s written two previous novellas in this universe, with this being the first full-length novel in the setting. Great worldbuilding and a fabulous dapper butch heroine.

[wiggly-blue-shite]

Chapter 5! The Bell Doesn’t Dismiss You!

Biology! I really do love this class. Well the AP Bio teacher is super cool and everything makes sense to me. I love this class!

"Hey Henry!" Oh it's him. Chad Stevenson. Star quarterback, straight A student, ASB Vice President. Not only is he a senior, he is also tragically straight, not that he'd be into me. But oh wow those pearly whites.

"Oh hey Chad what's up!" I only see him this period. We're not close but he was my lab partner once! He's so far out of my league I don't even get nervous around him.

"Not much man. Good to see you." He is a practically perfect specimen. It's ridiculous. No human should be like that.

"I don't think I saw you a Sam's party yesterday?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in that jack offs house." Chad chuckled a little. He fucking looks like Clark Kent it's ridiculous. I chuckle a little too.

The late bell rings and he walks over to his seat. He didn't mention the makeup... huh.

I redirect my attention to the class at hand. I take close notes. Wow I love this class.

I start walking to my next class. AP English language, also a pretty fun class. It's a lot of reading and writing, two of my best activities, other than acting, and science, and music, and probably more things.

You can clearly see those who are hungover. I have a few different species of hungover:

• The absent, which are just the students who didn't come to school today or skip certain classes.

• The basic, which tend to be the white bitch. They put on too much makeup to compensate. It also looks fucking terrible.

• The pissed off, aka Emma. Just bitchy. All the time. Enough said.

• The in denial, they act like everything is normal even though they are visibly suffering.

Etc. my studies will be continued.

I spot Ted from across the courtyard. I don't know what it is about him. Maybe it's the fact that he seems like a human being compared to Chad. I can't help but to smile a little when I see him. I have the peculiar urge to get to know him better. I don't know what it is.

He turns his head, I think he spots me staring at him. He smiles and waves at me. My heart skips a beat. He didn't look away.

I wave back. W don't stop to talk to each other. Passing period isn't long enough.

I get to English and sit down in my seat. I wave at Zoey who sits across from me. I don't hate her like some people do. She's kind of bitchy and annoying. She's also a total fucking diva. But Norah is her best friend, and Norah is my theatre club running mate. I basically only tolerate Zoey because of theatre. I don't want to think about her though.

So I grab the writing assignment we are supposed to work on today and focus on that.

He didn't look away.

Ah no. Writing assignment. Uhh symbolism in King Lear. Oh Jesus Christ. I love this class but why?

He smiled at you. His cute little crooked smile. How could I get to know him better?

No! King Lear symbolism!

Maybe Emma and I could sit at Ted and Paul's table at lunch. Since Emma and Paul are basically dating it wouldn't be weird. Right?

I pull out my phone and hide it so my teacher can't see it. I text Emma.

Henry: Lets sit with Paul today!

She responds immediately. I think she has a free period or a easy elective right now.

Emma: Why

Henry: So you don't want to hang out with Paul?

Emma: No I do but you don't

The teacher walks by and I slide my phone under my thigh. Yes I am paying full attention to the symbolism of King Lear. Jesus Christ.

He goes back to his desk and I pull my phone out.

Emma: Is it Ted? ;)

Henry: What does it matter?

Emma: We can sit with them today ;)

Smug bitch.

I slide my phone back into my pocket.

Alright King Lear symbolism! Really a riveting topic.

I meet up with Emma outside the cafeteria. The lunch line is more tolerable with a friend.

"So Ted?" I fucking knew it.

"Shut up." She already knows I consider him attractive. But I don't know. I want to get to know him I guess.

"This is the first real crush in a while." Emma grabs a tray.

"Ok who said anything about a crush." I just want to get to know him better. He seems like a cool person.

"You haven't asked to sit with a boy before. Sure there's been a few 'let's sit with Norah and Zoey' s but this is like a boy." Oh Jesus Christ.

"I just want to get to know him." We get to the lunch counter. "A yogurt." I smile at the lunch lady handing her my lunch money. She smiles back and hands me basically a parfait. I don't think they're allowed to call it a parfait because those are deserts. But what else would you call fruit in granola layered in yogurt? Well it's the only thing remotely edible that they serve here. I grab a little bag of baby carrots and an apple juice.

"A chicken sandwich." Emma hands the lunch lady her money and is returned with basically just a chicken nugget in two pieces of bread. How are they allowed to serve this? "Get to know him? Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?"

Jesus fucking Christ.

We head away from the counter to the rest of the cafeteria. I don't see paul or Ted. Come to think of it I don't think they eat in the cafeteria.

"Where do they eat lunch?" I still scan the cafeteria.

"Outside near the English building." I didn't even know there was a place to eat over there.

Once we get there I see there isn't a play to eat. They are sitting under a tree using backpacks as tables sitting on jackets. Weird.

Paul, Bill, Ted, and Charlotte are there. Ted looks surprised to see us. Wait did they know we where coming? It's rude just to show up. I don't want to be rude. My heart rate increases.

"Hi Emma!" Paul calls out cheerfully. It's almost as if I don't exist.

Emma sits next to paul. But there's not much space between Emma and the tree so I can't sit next to her. I don't know where it's ok for me to see. I don't know these dynamics. This was a bad idea.

Bill pats the ground in between him and Ted, signaling me to sit there. So I plop down there. I didn't bring a jacket so I have nothing to sit on, but that's fun.

"Damn if I knew you were gonna be here I would have brought an extra jacket." Ted's voice is warm. I could melt. No one talks about his compassion.

"No it's fine." I really don't care that much. It's nothing.

"I love your makeup." Charlotte speaks up. To be honest I have not heard her speak in a very long time. I think she's on color guard or something like that, I have no idea. I just know she's wrapped around Sam's little finger, but that's common knowledge.

"Thanks!" I really expected more people to hate it.

"I could never rock an outfit like that." Ted leans back a little bit. I can feel his eyes on me. He's watching me. I can feel blood rush to my cheeks.

"Sure you could!" I would love to see that... I mean nothing.

"Wow I can't even imagine Ted in full makeup." Bill laughs. Everyone chuckles a little.

"I'm sure Henry would love to do your makeup." Emma had her evil little smile. I put myself in this situation.

"Sure I'm down." Ted shrugged. Oh great. Well I be would be spending time with him.

"Yeah ok." What am I going to say no?

"Yay!" Emma claps a little. She's more excited for this than me and ted are.

"Hey any word on the school play?" This is the first time I've seen Paul show any interest in our schools theatre program. Emma says he doesn't really like musicals which is preposterous.

"Nope. I think we're just going to be left in the dark until the week of the audition." I'm 80% sure only Emma knows what I'm talking about, but that's fine. "It's not going to be a Shakespeare show, because we did Shakespeare in the fall."

"Does that mean it's going to be a musical? There is distain in Paul's voice.

"Probably." I shrug. I love musicals but it's not like we're going to get the rights to any really cool shows. We don't have the budget.

Paul groans. No one is forcing him to see the show. I don't want him there anyways. He won't appreciate it.

"Well I'm excited for it." Bill pats me on the shoulder. I've seen him in the audience of a couple shows. I'm convinced he just goes to every school function.

"Thanks!" I smile at him.

"Those shows always look like so much fun." Ted stares off retrospectively at the tree. He's correct, they always are super fun. Even if you have diva bitch Zoey there. I didn't know that Ted went to the shows. Oh wow that means he has seen me in some... interesting roles. Oh Jesus Christ he's seen me play Mrs. Bumbrake.

"You should audition." Why did I say that? Bad idea. No no no. "I mean you don't have to, we don't even know what the show is yet. But it is really a fun experience regardless of show. Though it is baseball season, and I know you're on the baseball team. Splitting time between the show and sports might be stressful." I can feel myself rambling, so I shut up.

"Oh shit I totally forgot about baseball." He takes a deep breath, "if I'm being honest I might quit baseball." Everyone sits in quiet for a second, paul looks stunned. "The coach is a dick, he-who-shall-not-be-named is on the team now, and I don't even enjoy it that much."

The silence is unbearable. I prompted this. Well I need to fix it somehow.

"Well there's alway seats open in theatre club." Jesus Christ I am a fucking dumbass.

"I do not belong on stage." Ted chuckles a little breaking some of the tension, "Charlotte knows what I'm talking about, my singing voice is awful." Charlotte giggles a little. I didn't realize they spent time together. I thought she was always at Sam's side.

"You don't have to sing. There's other aspects of theatre, y'know." He probably doesn't know if I'm being completely honest. I don't blame him though. They do not focus on arts education at this school.

"You could be a techie!" Emma gasps. That's actually a good idea. We could use people with more upper body strength on curtains or spot. I would do it, but the spot is on me.

"I don't even know what that is." Ted chuckles again. He has an adorable laugh. Oh and if he was techie I would get to see him all the time.

"You basically work backstage." It's more complicated than that but he doesn't need the whole spiel yet. "The show hasn't even been announced yet so there's not really any desperate need for techies. But I- We'd be so happy to have you!" I caught myself just in time. I see the gleam in Emma's eye. She knows what I almost said.

"I mean if I end up quitting, I'll have nothing better to do." Ted shrugs. Did that work? Is he actually considering it. Am I fucking dreaming? what's happening?

Then the bell rings. Paul and Emma walk off without so much as a goodbye. Charlotte and Bill at least wave goodbye. And I'm left there with Ted. My next class is theatre. I could bring up Ted teching to Mrs. Murray.

"Hey, if you'd like I can talk to Mrs. Murray about it." I try to be nonchalant, even though the thought of Ted being around the theater all the time freaks me out.

"Well I need to quit baseball first." Ted pats my shoulder, I can't help but to tense up. "I'm looking forward to the makeover, see you later." And with that he walks away.

"Bye!" I call out after him. Did that sound desperate? It felt kind of clingy. God damnit I'm pathetic.

Oh shit. I'm going to be late to theatre.

[temmie-loony]

I would love some Karivarry headcanons, with or without the kids if you have them.

*cracks knuckles* I love getting this kind of ask.

Also since I’ve already made a lot of headcanons primarily without kids, I’mma do this one purely with the kids.

We all know that Dawn is Oliver’s favorite kid

William is Barry’s favorite 

Connor is Kara’s 

She tends to joke that he isn’t, but they all know better 

William doesn’t live with his family anymore

He originally planned on moving back to Star to help Felicity with her company but decided to stay in Central because of his mess of a family

The excuse he used, however, is that he stayed for his grandparents (Samantha’s parents) but c’mon, who is he kidding? 

Besides, what kind of team leader would he be if he moved away?

So he’s still in Central, somewhere in the outskirts, with a decent amount of space

Connor is engaged

Prior to letting the world in on his relationship, he had the whole nation fooled by letting them think he’s like his dad was prior to being shipwrecked; he was almost always seen with a girl in each arm

The world was absolutely shook when he posted on Instagram a picture of him kissing his boyfriend fiancé, holding his face with his left hand adorning a silver band on his ring finger

“Douchebag stole my thunder and proposed first. God I love him so much.”

Dawn primarily trains with Team Flash, but back when she was still starting and Barry had been pushing her just a bit too much, she would go running off to Oliver, who would later yell at Barry 

“Hypocrite,” Barry would say under his breath

She doesn’t do that anymore mostly

Now that Oliver has retired from being the Green Arrow and he’s no longer mayor, he mostly spends his time either traveling, exercising, chilling or heading to his kids’ base to watch them

Sometimes William kicks him out though because he gets stressed from Oliver being stressed from watching Dawn and Connor risk their lives despite being half-Kryptonian (and half-meta in Dawn’s case) and well-trained

So he ends up heading to STAR Labs/CCPD to see what Barry’s doing or head over to Earth-38 with his own interdimensional extrapolator and surprise Kara

It’s not that he doesn’t have anything better to do but because he’s spent the better part of his life constantly fighting for something and now he gets to do nothing

He doesn’t have to worry about a lot anymore and he’s enjoying his time relaxing

He does put his old gear back on whenever the world needs him too, which is a lot less than he expected

Barry isn’t really allowed to babysit any of Wally’s kids without some other adult with him

“But--”

“Last time we left the twins with you, they ended up in 1912. And one of them don’t even have powers!”

Despite Kara being from an entirely different Earth, the kids never really lived there

They spent the summers there sometimes but would almost always need to hop back to Earth-1 because there’s always something bad going on that they need to stop

William stole has one of his sister’s dogs and one of her cats that he insists are actually his

The dog is a big Australian Shepherd called Lightning

The cat is a little Ragdoll called Bug

Connor grew up wearing lead-lined glasses because his parents assumed he had x-ray vision

It wasn’t until he was in his late teens that Alex revealed that he didn’t have the power

He ditched the glasses as soon as he heard it 

Because he wouldn’t wear his glasses when he was younger, Oliver and Barry started wearing glasses (fake ones though) so Connor (and also Dawn) would wear glasses too

When they have time, feel like it and there’s no imminent danger that the others can’t handle, Dawn, Irey and Liv go dimension-hopping

Mostly to see if they have doppelgangers and see what their lives are like

A lot of the worlds don’t have their parents together

When they do find some doppelgangers, it’s either their siblings and not them, or them without their siblings because, a lot of the time, only a pair of their parents would be together

So far they’ve only seen two Earths that has all of Dawn’s parents together and one that has Irey and Liv’s parents together

Also, they visit the Disney Worlds of every Earth they go to because duh

When Oliver wants to rest or sleep in the middle of the day and he’s home alone, he has to keep the door closed to keep all five four of Dawn’s dogs out

He’s okay with them but the last time he left the door open, her giant Samoyed nearly smothered him to death

The cats... he’s good with the cats

When they’re not pawing at his face to feed them

Other than that, he’s okay

When the kids were younger, Barry wouldn’t bring them to the CCPD on “Bring Your Kid to Work Day”

Dawn and Connor were still getting a grip on their powers --thus were unpredictable-- and William was too old anyway

When Singh told him to bring his kids, Barry gave some excuse about them having important exams

That lie would’ve been believable had Barry not stuttered

Or if it wasn’t summer vacation

Earth-38 has three Supers: Superman, Supergirl and the youngest Superboy

Cat Grant was the one who found out that Superboy is Superman’s son

The world knows Supergirl is slowly bowing out, seeing less and less of her and with Superboy showing up more and more

As Clark and Kara, the latter had told Clark that she’s been thinking about moving to Earth-1, with her family instead of having to go back and forth

Clark had smiled, “You took over completely when I left to Argo and start a family. And you still stayed even after you had yours. Go be with your family, Kara. I have Jon. Not to mention the Justice League. We’ll be fine.”

Kara hadn’t left immediately obviously but she’s making the world slowly get used to the lack of Supergirl

Earth-1 will just have to get used to seeing more of her

Just so we’re clear, I thought about these headcanons before Arrow introduced flash-forward William. My William is straight. Connor was always meant to be bi.

Also is anyone interested in more kids? Two from canon ships in the shows (kids being John Thomas Diggle Jr. and Jonathan Samuel Kent) and one from a non-canon ship (ship being SnowWest? :)

[hazyheel]

NJPW Destruction in Kobe 2019 Review

The Destruction tour has come to a close for the year, and the biggest show of the tour went out with a bang. I normally criticize the New Japan B shows for not having a super entertaining undercard, but I can definitely say that this undercard was quite good. On top of that, we saw a rather surprising face that some older fans may recognize (although I didn’t). The two headliners were also very entertaining as I’m sure you’d expect. Here is my full review of Destruction in Kobe.

Alex Coughlin, Manabu Nakanishi, & Michael Richards vs. Yota Tsuji, Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura: Nagata and Nakanishi started things off and they layed into each other with strikes and kicks, with Nagata nearly taking Nakanishi down, only for Nakanishi to push him back into his own corner. The two then tagged out. Richards and Uemura then faced off, and dueled in various holds on the mat. The two then tried for some shoulder tackles, before Uemura transitioned into strikes. Coughlin then tagged in and started to strike away at Uemura. Uemura fought his way out of the pressure from the opponents, even slamming Nakanishi before tagging out to Nagata again. Nakanishi quickly took control and nearly got the pin before Tsuji defiantly broke it up. Tsuji’s distraction got Nakanishi an exploder, and then he got the hot tag, but completely whiffed on a dropkick and got destroyed by Coughlin. The two exchanged strikes and chops in the middle of the ring, with Coughlin coming out on top. Coughlin dropped Tsuji with a huge chop and locked in a Boston Crab. Tsuji quickly made the ropes, and got a spear to start to fight back. Tsuji nearly got the win with a huge slam, but the opposing team broke it up. Tsuji then swung Coughlin around a bit before locking in the Boston Crab for an intense sequence that ended in the submission victory for Tsuji.

Grade: C+. These types of matches are usually hit or miss for me, with this one being largely boring but kinda fun in the end. It really highlighted Tsuji, who got a bit win after having a disappointing run in the Young Lion Cup. I love Tsuji, he is actually awesome. But other than that, I didn’t care much about this. Fine action though. 

Clark Connors vs. Ren Narita in the 2019 Young Lion Cup: Narita started out with an ankle lock, and kept Connors on the mat. Connors transitioned into a triangle, only for Narita to stack him up for a near fall, and the two broke up. The two continued to lock up over and over, but neither man really got the advantage early on. The two then started to chop the living crap out of each other, with Narita actually being able to keep up with the stronger Connors. Connors then brought the match back to the mat, and started to work over the arm and shoulder, only for Narita to power out of it. Narita constantly seemed to one up Connors every time he tried for some offense, which clearly frustrated the the LA Dojo student. Connors then unleashed a vicious series of strikes and chops, only to ear an overhead belly to belly for a near fall. Narita followed it up with a huge slap, but ate a spear as he came off the ropes for a followup. Connors then locked in a brutal looking Boston Crab for a long time, before Narita was forced to tap out. Connors: 8, Narita: 10. 

Grade: B+. These two are great. I cannot stress enough how much potential that these two have. They are absolutely brutal with the way they hit each other, they showed some great technical wrestling, and both looked like they had incredible power. The two both looked awesome, and although Narita was eliminated from winning the tournament here, he still was extremely impressive. Even the way he was reluctantly tapping out showed how good he was. Both of these guys will be big, and I can’t wait to see how big they get. 

Narita also is headed out on his excursion, and is going to train alongside Shibata in the LA Dojo. We will still see him on the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour, but he’ll probably only pop up when they venture into the US. Good Luck Narita, you will be a great wrestler. 

Karl Fredericks vs. Shota Umino in the 2019 Young Lion Cup: With Narita eliminated, this was essentially the final match for the 2019 Young Lion Cup. Unless they tied here, the winner would win the whole shebang. They started out with some fast paced grappling as they traded holds and escapes until Fredericks was able to lock in a headlock and force Umino to the mat. Fredericks tried a test of strength with Umino, but Umino immediately put him on the mat. Umino was in control for a while, even enduring chop after chop from Fredericks and putting him down with one of his own. Fredericks took control with a crossbody, and then showed some of his flashy “high flying,” which I put in quotes because it is a limited by the Young Lion offense. Umino started to bleed from the nose as the match went on, and Umino started to work over the shoulder as much as he could. Umino then hit a missile dropkick for a near fall, forcing Fredericks to expose his shoulder so Umino could grab another armbar. Fredericks broke out, but Umino then nailed a German suplex for yet another near fall. He went to hit the ropes, but Fredericks grabbed the tights and absolutely folded Umino up with a back drop suplex. He then nailed a spinebuster, before locking in a high angle single leg Boston crab for what I thought was a shocking win. Fredericks: 12, Umino: 10.

After the match, Fredericks held the cup high, and although Umino tried to crawl towards him, Fredericks did not show the respect to Umino. Umino was extremely frustrated, and pounded the mat before walking to the back. 

Grade: B. A strong B, but they didn’t keep up that level of intensity that they started with. Both guys are once again great, and have a very clear future as stars. I was bummed out that Umino didn’t win, but Fredericks is also a great wrestler, and looks like he will be ready to go on excursion pretty soon too. There aren’t too many Young Lions right now, and just about half of them look like they can leave for excursion any day now. Lots of talent in this class, which makes it all the more impressive that Fredericks won this New Japan Cup. Good stuff, and I’m excited to see more of these guys. 

Umino is headed out on excursion as well, and unfortunately he won’t be going to AEW alongside Moxley, like I’d hoped. He will be headed into RevPro, joining a couple other Young Lions that are on excursion. Good luck Umino, I can’t wait to hear about all the great things that you will do. You were my favorite Young Lion in this class, and you have all the potential in the world. Do great things. 

Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Toa Henare: Pieter was out to corner Takahashi, and I was happy to see her back. Not because she is hot (she is though), but because she completes the Tokyo Pimp gimmick. Takahashi and Henare started things out, with the faces quickly taking control. Honma tagged in quickly and hit a Kokeshi. The heels then took control as Owens pulled Honma to the outside to beat him down. The heels then took control for a while, beating down Honma. At one point, Honma tried to slam Fale, but he couldn’t do it, so Fale just fell on him for a near fall. Right afterwards, Honma tagged out to Makabe, who fought brutally with Fale. They traded tackles and lariats, and Makabe actually put Fale down. Fale returned the favor soon after, and the two tagged out. Owens and Henare went in, and picked up the pace. They both ran the ropes, and Takahashi kicked Henare in the back to distract him, but Henare kept control anyway. Fale then ran in, and all three faces gave him lariats and put him out on the floor. Owens and Henare continued their duel. with Owens hitting Jewel Heist, for a near fall, followed by a knee to the chin, and then a package piledriver for the win. 

Grade: D+. I really wasn’t into this match. I’m a fan of Owens and Henare, but the other guys never really did it for me. The match was largely slow and plodding, without too many high spots or intensity. Kokeshi did make me happy though. Other than that, I didn’t really like this. 

Minoru Suzuki, DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Rocky Romero & Hiroshi Tanahashi: before the match, Liger ran out down the ramp and ambushed Suzuki. The rest of Suzuki-gun ran down to help, but they were quickly grabbed by the rest of Liger’s team. Liger and Suzuki started to brawl in the ring, and Suzuki introduced both a chair and a table into things. The two continued to fight, and Suzuki nailed an unprotected chair shot right to the head. Suzuki then locked in a sleeper hold, but Liger nailed a low blow. Liger then tored his mask off to reveal a whole bunch of face paint, signifying Kushin Liger, the much more violent form of the legend that we all know and love. He spit mist into both Suzuki’s eyes and then the refs. He then grabbed a spike, and went to straight up stab Suzuki with it, but Suzuki dodged it and he drove it straight through the table in the corner. The match was called a DQ for Suzuki-gun, and Liger continued to brawl into the back. 

Grade: B+. Well, I’m super into this. I didn’t know what Kushin Liger was before this show, so I had to do some research, but this is an awesome way to build to the Suzuki vs. Liger singles match. He looks scary as all hell, but super badass. I’ve never seen the very honorable Liger act like this, so it was totally badass to see. I’m so into this, but I hope that if Liger does actually win the feud, then he does it as his face persona rather than a tweener. But still, this was cool as hell.

SHO, Tomohiro Ishii, Will Opsreay, YOH & YOSHI-HASHI vs. El Phantasmo, KENTA, Tama Tonga, Taiji Ishimori & Tonga Loa: CHAOS vs. BULLET CLUB. Lots of rivalries and moving parts in this match. Phantasmo has a match with Ospreay, Roppongi 3k recently beat the Guerrillas, and Hashi and Ishii both hate Kenta with a passion. Jado cornered the Bullet Club here, with his trusty Kendo stick. Ishii and Loa started things off with some shoulder tackles and strikes. only for Tama to kick Ishii in the back as he ran the ropes, only for Hashi to return the favor by doing the same to Tonga. Everyone then started to brawl, and the heels worked over Hashi a bit. As Kenta and Hashi fought, the two exchanged strikes, and Hashi actually countered a vertical suplex into one of his own. Opsreay and Phatnasmo then fought for some high speed flying. Ishimori quickly got involved as well, with Ospreay able to fight them both off, even nailing ELP with a stundog millionaire, followed by a Robinson special. Ospreay then went for the Os Cutter, but Phantasmo nailed a reverse rana and tagged out. The Guerrillas tried to take him down as well, but Ospreay outwrestled both of them and tagged Yoh. Yoh then fought both of the tag champions off with high knees. ELP and Ishimori then ran in to give Roppongi 3k stereo superkicks, and then gave Ishii a double superkick as he came in. They started to attack Ishii, but Ishii gave ELP a shoulder tackle, and then held Ishimori in place for a Pip Pip Cheerio from Ospreay into a German suplex. Ospreay then irish whipped ELP into Ishii’s powerslam, followed by a twisting splash off of Ishii’s back to ELP. Ospreay didn’t stop there, as he gave Ishimori a Sauske special to the outside. Back in the ring, Loa took Ishii down with a spear, and then Tama aided Loa to hit Guerrilla Warfare, only for Hashi to break it up. Kenta ran in and started to trade strikes with Hashi, as The Guerrillas tried to hit Yoh with Magic Killer, but Sho broke it up. They then beat down Sho, and went to give him a Magic Killer, but Sho kicked Tama away, right into a rollup from Yoh, who scored another win!

After the match, Bullet Club  beat down the Chaos members a bit, mostly the Guerrillas attacking Roppongi 3k. Loa nailed Apeshit on Yoh, as Tama attacked them with a kendo stick.

Grade: B+. I think this was a really really strong 10 man tag, but it didn’t quite break into A territory. Close, but not quite. Ishii and Ospreay shined with those awesome combinations. ELP was being a perfect dick, while we saw some interesting brawling between Hashi and Kenta. I am not a huge fan of the way they have booked Ishimori’s personality to basically become Phantasmo jr, that is irritating, but the action was really awesome and fun to watch. Lots of potential matches set up here. 

BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA vs. Robby Eagles, Kota Ibushi & Kazuchika Okada: Okada and Sanada started things off, and the crowd immediately broke into dueling chants. Red Shoes of course tried to measure the reaction, saying that it was too close to call. They started with a tie up, and Okada actually gave the clean break when I didn’t think he would. The two scrambled for position and Sanada kicked Okada to the outside. The then faked the suicide dive, but flipped over the top rope, before he slingshot back in the ring. They both tagged out, and Eagles and Bushi started to face off with some agile combat. Bushi quickly took control, and LIJ started to beat down Eagles. Eagles eventually was able to fight out, unleashing a combination of strikes before giving Ibushi the hot tag. Ibushi took everyone down with kicks, and looked smooth doing it. Evil quickly fought back into the match with his raw power. The two traded huge kicks and strikes, and they each put each other down with a discus forearm and a high kick. They tagged Sanada and Okada in, and they had some fast paced fighting. Okada then tried for the tombstone, but Sanada countered out of it, using the O’Connor roll into a Skull End, only for Ibushi to immediately break it up. Sanada then went for the Moonsault, but Okada dodged and hit a neckbreaker. Eagles then came in, and started to attack the leg as he unleashed a flurry of offense. At one point, he swept Sanada’s leg in the corner, before hitting double knees for a near fall. LIJ had to work together to fight him off, with Ibushi eventually breaking up a pin. He and Evil fought a bit with both men going for their finish, but Evil ended up hitting a huge German suplex. Sanada then countered Eagle’s turbo backback into a Skull End. Okada broke it up with a dropkick (after missing on his first try), so Sanada threw him out of the ring, and Bushi followed up with a suicide dive. Sanada locked in the skull end again, and Eagles had to tap. 

After the match, Ibushi and Evil squared up a bit, as did Sanada and Okada. Okada then tried to dropkick Sanada, who avoided three of the attempts. Evil then slapped Ibushi, and the two traded strikes a bit before Ibushi just walked away. 

Grade: B. This was a really fun and exciting match. Everyone played their roll well, and showed the intensity in both of the main feuds. Ibushi and Evil are violent and intense, while Okada and Sanada was a feud of respect and sportsmanship. I’m pretty sure that the dropkick stuff at the end was just a joke considering that he missed the first attempt, and he wanted to make a joke about it. These are two matches that I’m certainly looking forward to. Unfortunately, no Hiromu Takahashi appearance here. Bushi is gonna need a partner for the Super Jr. Tag League, so hopefully he comes back soon. 

Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi: This match of course stemmed from Takagi’s win during the G1, which prevented Goto from moving onto the finals, so things were very intense right off the bat. The two started with some tough striking right away, with Takagi actually near hitting several off his big moves right off the bat, but neither could get anything solid. The two then started with some tests of strength and Goto actually forced Takagi to his knees for a while in the early going, giving him advantage. The two then brawled on the outside, which was definitely Takagi’s environment. He threw the more experienced man all around ringside and ended things with a DDT into the floor. He brought the match back in the ring, and hit several knees before a vertical suplex for a near fall. The two then started to trade chops back and forth, and Takagi actually won the exchange. Goto returned fire with a couple strikes of his own, and a discus lariat to take control. Goto then locked in a sleeper hold, but Takagi broke out with a reverse Noshigami, followed by a sliding lariat and a proper Noshigami for a near fall. The two then fought on the top rope, and delivered headbutts and strikes back and forth, until Takagi hit a superplex. Goto hit the mat and immediately no sold it, hitting Takagi with a high angle German suplex. Takagi no sold that, and then hit a Saito suplex, and both men were down. They then collided with several huge lariats, but neither guy would go down. Takagi went for his combination of punches, but Goto caught him with a pair of lariats before the last hit, and scored a near fall. Goto then went for a Yoshigaroshi, but Takagi countered out of it and hit Made in Japan for a near fall of his own. He then went for a Pumping Bomber, but Goto dodged it, only to be hit by another, but again Goto kicked out.  The two continued to fight, with Goto hitting a Yoshigaroshi, followed by the reverse GTR, but again, Takagi kicked out! Goto started to fire away at Takagi’s chest, but Takagi then caught one, and hung Goto up in the ropes for a rope hung GTR of his own, followed by a Pumping Bomber for a huge kickout. They then both went for their finishers, with Goto ending up hitting a Shoutenkai, but neither man could get up. Goto followed up with a vicious PK, and then tried for the GTR, but Takagi tried to fight out of it. The two then traded headbutts a bit, but Goto nailed a vicious Yoshigaroshi, followed by the GTR for the win.

Grade: A-. This was a phenomenal match right here. These two put it all on the line, and went to war with some of the hardest strikes that I’ve ever seen in New Japan. I love me a hard hitting slugfest in New Japan, and these guys certainly delivered. It looks like they are building Goto up a bit now, so he will probably be getting a push towards something in the future. And that is something that I will definitely look forward to. Takagi continues to prove that he belongs in the heavyweight division, but he isn’t quite ready for a huge push just yet. But he will be, and that’ll be an awesome run. Match of the night. Also, no Hiromu. 

Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay White for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Gedo was in White’s corner for this match, most likely with his Brass Knuckles as well. White retreated to the outside right as the match started, similar to his strategy in the G1. Naito then did the same after White got in the ring. The two were playing some mind games as they danced around each other, with Naito refusing to lock up. When they did, Naito tried for several tricky pins, none of which worked, but he also dodged all of White’s offense, which angered the young man. Naito then took control, after goding white to follow him out of the ring, and then attacking him as they both got back in. The two brawled a bit on the outside, with White putting Naito over the barricade, and Naito barely made it back in. White continued to beat Naito down, taunting him as he did. At one point, White went a little too far, and Naito grabbed his hair and used it for a swinging neckbreaker. Naito then returned the taunts, locking in a full nelson with his legs and the slapping White in the head as he applied pressure. Naito put White in the corner, and repeatedly smashed him with forearms and spit on him. White tried for the three amigos, but only needed two before he tied Naito up in the middle rope and gave him a European uppercut, followed by a hangman’s DDT. Naito started to swing a bit wildly, but White countered with a flatliner, followed by a German suplex. As White beat Naito down, he and Gedo yelled at him to smile, keeping up the disingenuous friendship that has dominated their feud. White started to play with Naito a bit, and right when he let his guard down, Naito caught White with a dropkick as he ran the ropes. Naito then nailed his hangman’s neckbreaker on the knee, followed by a super rana and a Gloria for a near fall. Naito then hit a variation of his combo in the corner, sweeping White’s leg on the apron and then hitting the slingshot dropkick. White then immediately countered back by slamming Naito’s face into the canvas. White then went for a piledriver on the apron, with Naito countering with a back body drop, only for White to then grab him off the apron and nailing a powerbomb on the apron, followed by a uranagi in the ring for a near fall. White then went for the Kiwi Crusher, but Naito countered into a high angle DDT. He then forced white into the corner, but White then pulled Red Shoes down with him into the corner as Gedo slid in and hit Naito in the back with a chair. White followed up with a Kiwi Crusher, but Naito still kicked out. White went for the Bladerunner, but when Naito put up a fight, White threw him back down and stomped on his face a bit. He picked Naito back up, and Naito nailed an Ensiguri, but when he went for Destino, White just fell on his back. Gedo got up on the apron to distract Naito, but Naito grabbed White and kicked off Gedo for a tornado DDT. He went for Destino, but White countered out of it, so Naito nailed German instead. Destino attempt again, but White countered and hit a sleeper suplex this time. White went for another Bladerunner, but Naito countered, so he hit another Sleeper suplex. White tried again, but Naito countered this time with a Dragon Suplex. Naito then went for a Destino again, eventually hitting it but really slowing down because White caught him in it. White was able to kick out, and stopped another Destino attempt, only to eat a rolling kick and a hard slap. Naito then tried for a brainbuster, but White countered with a Bladerunner out of nowhere for the win. 

After the match, White got on the mic and yelled at the fans for leaving, before yelling at them in Spanish. He told Naito to smile, and ran down everyone in Bullet Club, before saying Bullet Club for life. As he was talking, Hirooki Goto walked down the ramp and nailed him with a forearm right away. He handed the belt to Gedo, and White walked away with it, screaming that Goto is not next. Goto then issued the challenge. 

Grade: A-. I thought this was a great match. A lot of back and forth, and a lot of great looking striking, and some awesome mind games. I thought that the closing stretch had a bit too much of the finisher counters, but it was intense and built them up a lot. Even though it started off slow, it built throughout the match and they pulled of a great main event. Also, no Hiromu. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Connors vs. Narita; Umino vs. Fredericks; Kushin Liger; 10 man tag; chaos vs. lij; goto vs. takagi; naito vs. white

Cons: bullet club vs. main unit; no hiromu

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 1x05 Twilight’s Last Gleaming

I’m a new fan of The 100, who first binged it last year, August to November. This is my first full rewatch of the show. I was planning to start it anyway and finish it before the season 6 premiere on April 30, and when I saw that Fox Serbia was airing a rerun (Monday to Friday, 40 min. after midnight, with repeats the next day), starting on 1st February, it was a great opportunity to start my rewatch in HDTV on my beautiful new TV. I decided to do write-ups and tag other fans on SpoilerTV website, as I did when I was first watching the show. But my posts turned into full blown essays. So, finally, after over a week, I’ve realized: Why don’t I post them on my Tumblr blog, too? I’ll copy my write-ups of the first 7 episodes, and then I’ll post my rewatch posts after I watch each episode. (The next one, 1x08, is on Monday’Tuesday.)

Spoilers below for all 5 seasons of the show. I go of on a tangents and make a lot of references to future events.

Rating: 8.5/10

This episode really shocked me and emotionally affected me back when I first watched, and it's when I first realized the show didn't pull punches.

Killing individual characters for shock value - that's nothing new, but killing a bunch of innocent people like that, having the audience expect throughout the episode for them to be saved at the last moment, and then instead they die anyway, when it could have been stopped... I really wasn't expecting that. Now it's far less shocking after you've seen The 100 use mass murder as a plot device multiple times. Well, this is not a murder, technically, since the people eventually volunteered for it to saved their loved ones. But before Abby decided to be seriously badass and show Jake's video to everyone and tell them the truth about the Ark dying, the 100 being sent to the ground, and the upcoming culling, the Council was planning to straight up murder 320 people and then lie about it, claiming it was an accident. And, as Clarke points out to Bellamy in this episode, it's certain that those would have been working class people rather than the Ark elite. The class issues the show keeps stressing is of those things that keep it from justifying the Ark leadership for their actions on the grounds of survival, tough choices, blah blah blah, and I'm glad for it. Jaha was here planning to be one of the people who died (but I bet a large part of the reason was because he thought his son was dead... which he was, just not for the reasons he thought), until Kane convinced him not to. They had a back and forth about who's the better leader, with Jaha arguing Kane had the strength to make tough choices, and Kane arguing later that Jaha was able to inspire people. And they were both kind of right, but not in the way they thought. Kane has changed a lot during the show, from pragmatist to idealist, from pessimist to optimist, but he's always been a guy who 100% believes in whatever course of action he's chosen, thinks it's right and throws himself into it, in a way that often comes off as a bit naive. But he does suck at winning the popular vote, going by the fact that he was never elected Chancellor and that he lost to Pike in S3. While Jaha somehow managed to get elected, bull&s.hits really well in a speech in episode 1x07, and in S4 we see him give speeches to the people for the benefit of Clarke and Bellamy that show how good he can be at swaying people, even when he's not in power. But S2-3 also showed the most awful version of his messianic complex and influence. Something else that has always bothered me about the culling is, we see people sacrifice themselves for their children (like Tor Lemkin for his daughter Reese) or their romantic partners (the guy who wants to do it for his wife), which is something we see multiple times in the show. But we don't see how their loved ones feel about it, whether they tried to stop them (Tor's daughter Reese didn't realize what was going on, but the adults did). How will Reese will about losing her father when she learns what he did, and that he did it for her? In the next episode, we see the husband of one of the victims in the culling in 1x07, and in S5 we learn Kara Cooper's father was one of the 320. I wonder how many of the people from the Ark that lost there loved ones are even alive by S6? This is also the episode that made me feel better about the Clarke/Finn/Raven love triangle, because it was dealt with much better than I expected. Another reason why this was a turning point when I was really on board with the show. Speaking of that love triangle - this show really loves the scenes where Clarke is shocked and hurt to find out someone has a girlfriend by seeing him reunite with her and kiss her. They did the exact same thing in S5. And both times the camera zooms on Clarke's face rather than on the couple, though in this case, they didn't go as far as to blur Finn and Raven out of focus. But these are two very different situations, of course. Among other things, because in S5, it was no one's fault, while this situation is fully Finn's fault. I've loved the way Clarke dealt with learning Finn had a girlfriend, absolutely not doing the "being catty and fighting over a guy" thing, but the exact opposite. She's heartbroken, but she immediately bottles it up. She clearly hates being the 'other woman' and her instinct when feeling unwanted is to completely withdraw. You know who definitely isn't dealing with it well? Finn. He's clearly uncomfortable as he wasn't expecting Raven to come, and then he goes to indicate to Clarke that he would like to continue a relationship with her, which she refuses... so he then goes back to Raven and acts like everything is fine, because if Clarke doesn't want him, why not stick with Raven, and has no intention of telling Raven that he slept with someone else, or that he's in love with Clarke or that he would like to be with Clarke. Just like he never thought it would be right to tell Clarke that he has a long-term girlfriend on the Ark. Speaking of relationships, but in this case, not very serious ones, one of Bellamy's friends with benefits we see him in bed with in this episode, Bree (the blonde one), is the same girl who came onto him and presumably had sex with him in season 4, while partying as one of Jasper's end-of-the-world suicide group, and who went on to be one of those who killed themselves. But I'd be lying if I said I would make that connection if I didn't see it on The 100 wiki. The other girl, Roma, ends up killed by the Grounders in 1x07. This was still the time when Bellamy was often acting in a very frustrating way - due to his narrow focus on just Octavia and himself and not yet the group as a whole or people in general - and massively screwing up things, and never more than in this episode, by stealing Raven's radio and throwing it in the water, so Jaha couldn't come down to execute him. Now, he did know about the Ark being on its last legs, but had no idea about the culling before Raven told everyone. I predicted at the time that we'll see Bellamy feeling super guilty later, since he doesn't outwardly show it much in this episode, and boy, did we see that in 1x08. (Much more than we ever did from Jaha, who was actually directly responsible for it, but that's what Jaha is like, always justifying his actions as necessary.). Here, Finn, Clarke and Raven confront Bellamy about the radio, and the former two learn about Bellamy shooting Jaha, while Bellamy learns Jaha survived, but with a massive difference between how Finn and Raven confront him and how Clarke does. The former two are basically like "You're the worst" and Finn calls him selfish, while Clarke - already at this point - seems to understand him better and have a much better opinion of him: "You're not a murderer. All you have done is to protect your sister", though she then gets angry at him a bit later, asking if he even cares that he caused the deaths of 320 people. It's so weird that the flares the 100 use to signal the Ark won't help at all (the Ark leaders, aside from Abby, will just dismiss them), but will end up burning a Grounder village and cause more conflict with the Grounders. Which is so consistent with Murphy's Law - not the episode or John Murphy, but actual Murphy's Law - whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. But just to be clear, the Grounders using that to justify their war was utter bullcrap. There's no way anyone intelligent could consider the 100 an invading force (LOL) after seeing what they were like (and we know they did: Lincoln was spying on them and making notes) and anyone who's not a small child knows that people can't be considered guilty for causing things by complete accident, which they never could have predicted happening. (I just had to have that mini-rant because people who try to portray both sides as equally responsible, or even demonize the Delinquents and/or excuse the Grounders, get on my nerves, a lot.) A minor-running theme in this episode: at the beginning of the episode, when Clarke and Finn are lying together in the afterglow, before their super-brief relationship came came to a crushing end after Raven came back, Finn - always the one saying romantic things - mentioned a falling star and making a wish, which Clarke was initially confused by, since she just thought of meteors in real world terms and didn't know about that old superstition, while Finn said he had read about it. At the end of episode (in a moment I've seen in a few Tumblr gifsets!), when everyone is watching the flares, Clarke and Bellamy are looking at them together and she asks "What would you wish on a falling star" and then assumes Bellamy wouldn't understand what she's talking about. But she obviously does (the guy has read a lot), since he says "I don't even know what I would wish for". Which is probably true, and sad - I imagine that he had never given any serious thought to what he actually wanted out of life, beyond "Protect Octavia - make sure she is not discovered." Of course, the scene was also an occasion to show Clarke looking sadly at Finn and Raven, so we'll know she's actually really heartbroken and pining. There's more pining from Clarke in the next couple of episodes, and after that, IIRC, fortunately barely any. BTW, let's just take in the fact that Clarke, in all 5 seasons, has never actually properly dated anyone, or specifically, she had one friend with benefit with no stronger feelings involved, and she had the two romantic relationships (with people she had known for a few weeks. and who both relentlessly pursued her romantically and made the first moves) which lasted a few hours each and consisted of having sex exactly once, but were portrayed as epic romances, where 95% of the overall relationship, in both cases, consisted of not dating, but a lot of angst, betrayal, and ended in death, and Clarke getting traumatized and feeling guilty (without actually it being her fault). It's amazing how similar overall her relationships with Finn and Lexa are, including in how much they lasted and how much focus they had on screen and for how long, but one is almost completely forgotten and ignored by the fandom now, while the other one is over-hyped.

[lethesomething]

A note on fictional jobs

There's a joke that all fanfic characters are either baristas, teachers, lawyers or some denizen of the tattoo/florist au set. This isn't really fully true (there's also witches and vampire hunters!) but for anyone going for a realistic setting, let me at least, as someone who has worked a number of jobs in media, software development and catering, give some pointers on how that stuff works, because dear lord does Hollywood get it wrong.

This post is 2k words, so under the cut it goes.

Journalism/Photography/Media

General tips

This sector seems to be pretty popular in old school comics, and for good reason. Clark Kent gets to go out into the city and be near events. It's a job women are historically allowed to do (and be sassy in) and even Peter Parker gets to just traipse around the city getting into adventures.

It must also be noted that all these characters were developed in the first half of the 20th century, and media has changed a lot since then.

If your character is a journalist, they will work long hours and not be paid *that* much. Carrie Bradshaw is the most unrealistic journalist character in the history of everything. Especially after, oh, 2010 or so, when the traditional press sales really started declining. No journalist is that well paid for that little. And none will have that much free time.

Journalists generally have a beat, and what they do and know heavily depends on that. Your character can get into the gritty streets of downtown chasing drug dealers, or they can go to theatre premieres. They won't do both. The Vast Majority of modern media have beats. A person can be a sports caster and then he will go to sports events to report them. They can be a jetset reporter or restaurant reviewer and go to swanky places. They can be a cultural reporter and be invited to premieres and shows. They can be a dedicated business journalist, reporting on IT, or cardboard logistics, or whatever, and go to conferences around the world. But they will rarely be all these things at once.

How wide this beat is, depends heavily on the 'range' of the medium. Big news rooms, like NYTimes, have a lot of journalists, and some very, Very specialised ones. This is deep dive, spend weeks trailing every leak out of the White House stuff. In contrast, a small regional tv station can have their reporter (with or without a camera man and sound tech) drive around the countryside reporting on pumpkin carving festivals one day, and grisly murder the next.

A lot also depends on the medium. If the character works for a newspaper, they will have a noon to eight shift as a writer, and a two to ten shift, most likely, as an editor, because papers need to get printed overnight. If it's a weekly or a monthly print mag, there will be a few days with relative freedom to do interviews and such, and then a few days of crunch time. If they work for a news website they will have a desk job and most likely work in shifts. TV and radio news people are the ones doing most of the running around to get quotes, but they are also on the tightest of schedules.

Speaking of schedules. Unless the character is a blogger, they won't finish an article and immediately rush it to the printer/publish it. Reputable news sources have, at the very least, a copy editor to check for mistakes and typos. Bigger newspapers and magazines and sites have a dedicated fact checker.

Very VERY few papers in the world have full time photographers on the payroll. If your character is a photographer, they will most likely be a freelancer and do corporate events or weddings on the side (sorry Peter Parker). What happens is, a medium will decide in advance which article or interview will require a picture, and book a photographer for that piece.

Any other pictures tend to come from news agencies. Think Reuters or Associated Press. These sort of agencies do use full time photographers, as well as freelancers who happen to visit an event. They'll take like two hundred picture and sell them to the agency, who distributes them to media all over the world.

Few media have the money for correspondents, so they'll pick only a handful. This means a foreign correspondent has a large area to cover. European news media tend to have one correspondent in the US, covering the Entire US, for instance. American media tend to have more moneys, but if your character is a respondent in, say India, expect them to trek along India a lot, because they're prob the only one in that vast country.

Having said that, coverage, especially war coverage, is super expensive. If they're sending a journo to a war zone, it will absolutely not be a rookie. They will have proven themselves capable, preferably speak the language and they'll be Very Prepared. Think local guides, vast networks of informants etc. A startling amount of war reporters and investigative journalists are also freelance. If they are trekking through a jungle and come across anything exciting, you bet they'll try to sell that story in several angles/versions to different media.

Have you considered:

Bread and Butter Freelancers: It's a gig economy my friends. Freelance writey people don't have a boss and usually work from home or from some coffee shop. If they are to be successful (enough to make a living), they'll still have a beat, and will actually have to be fairly good at this subject. Since these characters make their own shifts, they do have the ability to go out in the middle of the day to do superheroing or witchery or to investigate the disappearance of their best friend. Upsides: Freedom. Downsides: Usually very little money. Unstable hours, like one day nothing and then a week of 14 hour days. The crushing stress of looming deadlines ànd job insecurity.

Copywriters: The people that write the text on corporate websites, that fill mail order catalogues with entries for every picture, compose newsletters for various organisations, turn technical instructions into actually mildly readable user manuals. Upside: money. If they're good at it, they will have a fairly stable income. They have the same freedom as freelancers to go flirt with flower shop assistants. Downside: the crushing knowledge that with every piece you write, your soul sinks deeper into the void. Anyone who's ever read clientsfromhell will know what to expect of their clientele.

Lay-outers: The creative side of making media. The bros making the graphs, putting the text to paper,  photoshoping the head of Putin onto the body of a baby, whatever. Upside: artist character. This is a slightly more realistic character than the 'painter'. They're creative, but they have yet to sell their soul to the corporate machine (depending on the medium you put them in, of course). Downside: this is basically a desk job with stable hours.

Cameraman, sound technician: the people that hang out with the news reporter and trot all over the region with him/her. Upside: see the world! Without being instantly recognizable. Downside: they're probably stuck in their mission and they rarely have the power to go 'hey, let's investigate over there'.

 Software development

General tips

There's actually a few different environments for software engineers to work.

Start-ups: the hip one. Think Silicon Valley, the upstarts in sneakers and Star Wars t-shirts living on pizza and red bull and basically coding 20 hours a day. Depending on where they are in the growth of their start-up, these people will be nearly alone, or have a team of coworkers. Traditionally, start-ups start with like a founder (or four) and an idea, and some coding. As the company grows they'll hire a sales person to sell this stuff, a marketing manager to brand it, a support person to troubleshoot it, an HR person, etc.

A very Very VERY large part of start-up business is pitching, aka selling your premise to a bunch of venture capitalists and investors. It's Dragon's Den. Literally. Your super shy, autism spectrum character who hates public speaking and who can't even look at another person without blushing would make a super crappy start-up founder by themselves. They will definitely need their bubbly, motivational speaker best friend. On the other hand: this is an amazing environment for that suave, smooth talking character who could sell sand in the desert.

Second environment: corporate. The vast majority of software engineers out there just work for some big company. These are the people building and deploying management system software for banks, installing security in factories, that sort of thing. A lot of the time they're consultants. They wear a suit. They use something called the Waterfall method, which sucks out your soul, or the Agile method, which also sucks out your soul. There's a lot of managing and meeting and progress reports. If they're good enough, they're allowed to leave the tie at home.

Software needs to be tested. You don't just write the code last minute and put it live.

The coders are absolutely not the only people in a software development team. There's the project managers, the designers, the copywriters, the testers, the lawyers, oh god, the lawyers, etc.

Software Needs to be tested. It takes ages. I cannot stress this enough. It usually happens in India or some other Asian country where the wages are lower.

Will a lot of environments, even corporate, allow their creatives to come to work in like… jeans and a t-shirt, the only people realistically allowed to actually act like teenagers, in any environment (corporate, start-up, small business), are the ones with skills that are very hard to find. In essence: security experts and specifically white hat hackers. Yes, you're allowed to have a hacker character that acts dumb and comes to work in his pyjamas and it will be realistic that he does not get fired. Your clerk character that's super rude and deals in hurtful quips? Not so much.

SOFTWARE NEEDS TO BE TESTED

 Have you considered:

Researchers: you know those people that made a song that can give Alexa commands without the owner knowing? Those are university researchers. A lot of really cool stuff is being developed not by office workers, but at universities. This includes software. Upside: probably a looser environment, with a lot of young people. Downside: you're basically writing a college AU.

Venture capitalists: in a Silicon Valley environment, this is basically the 'wealthy businessman' stereotype of old. The dragons in the dragon's den, the people that traipse around the city talking to people and assessing the potential of their pitch, before throwing money at them (or not). There's a bunch of paperwork, but they probably have a small army of accountants to handle this.

Evangelists: the cool people that hold TED talks. They usually work for a big tech company, as a specialist, and part of their job is to be a spokesperson.  A good example of this is the tech researcher, who has a day job finding nasty hackers or viruses, and who also blogs about that and holds talks and presentations about securing your business. A character like this has the advantage of being a deep tech nerd hacker type. They're rarely the CEO, so they can go deep into the coding, while also travelling places and meeting crowds of press or business people.

Project managers: these don't tend to do the actual coding, but they do, well, the managing. Characters like this will be more social and creative, they're the ones making the reports and presenting their progress to the CEO, and they're the ones troubleshooting when stuff goes wrong. In general, there's a lot of planning involved.

 Bakeries/Catering

General tips

Mass production of food is gruelling. You think you're writing about your sexy pastry chef and how they're carefully, tip of their tongue peeking through their lips, putting a cherry on top of that little moeilleux, but in reality, there's two hundred more to finish on this rack alone and they need to be done in under an hour.

Say it with me, people: baking is a night job. Industrial baking, mom-and-pop rural French bakery, bagel shop, donuts. Someone is going to be making all that stuff before the first customer arrives and that someone is slaving in front of a hot oven at four in the morning.

Any type of catering is a time management business. You know this. You've all watched Great British Bake-off (or, like, Chopped or whatever). If your professional cake maker is only working on one project/wedding at a time, they're not going to be in business for long. Your line chef will be plating up several dishes per minute. Your short order cook is baking six pancakes and scrambling eggs at the exact same time.

Unless it's a very large kitchen, the people that cook are the same ones that clean. And since it's food prep, there is a lot of cleaning.

Have you considered:

Recipe writer: ok so we're kinda back to media but big tv chefs don't make all those recipes themselves. Someone, usually a freelancer, writes them and tests them. Imagine someone getting the request to develop a seasonal cronut recipe that involves peaches and charcoal, because it's hip, and then baking several batches until they find something edible. This is a somewhat realistic environment for your super creative baker to live in a small house and make some money while also working on a book on the side, and falling in love with the quirky … goat… herd… brewer, florist, whatever.

[ronan-macteer]

⤷ have you heard? ( RONAN MACTEER ) has arrived in novigrad. the stories say ( he ) is also known as ( knight of the dawn ). he is very clearly ( thirty-five ) years old and a ( witcher ). little birds may whisper that ronan is ( - mendacious, enigmatic, wrathful, artful, silver-tongued and stubborn ) but their own would describe them as ( + gallant, charismatic, masterful, dauntless, genuine and loyal )  [ fc; richard madden ]

Hey there my dears - I’m Eden and I am super excited be here and bring to a dash near you the okayest witcher . Below you’ll find a vague-ish intro for my smol son because this one required more of an actual bio than Tea did ( adrastea incase you need to know ). Should you like to plot or fancy a connection with my love here hmu! 

tw mentions of death

Name: Ronan Albertus Martin MacTeer ( long I know but his parents really hoped a long name would inspire him to be more

Nickname: Ronan ( preferred ), MacTeer ( also preferred ), Roan, Roanie Ronan of Velen and other various nicknames and things one can shout at a witcher.

Title: Knight of the Dawn

Age: 35yrs. old. He does actually thoroughly look his age save for the grey stripe that appeared in his hair when he was just a boy.

Born:  Gors Velen, Velen, Northern Coast of Temeria

Species: Witcher ( formerly human? its common knowledge most witchers were human males if not all of them )

Gender: Male

Height: 5ft 10in

Physique: Muscular. ( everything about a witcher is enhanced and modified to create a more perfect fighting machine against the monsters that ever constantly threaten this world since the Conjunction of Spheres. Needless to say Ronan is no exception to that rule that everything about him is more than any other man. Still Ronan doesn't make it a point to laze around but because of his training he is always honing his skills, sharpening them for until there cease to be dangerous creatures there is still a need for him to be ready at all times to face them. Monsters are the only ones truly capable of killing other monsters - that was the reason for creating witchers in the first place. Too, Ronan is a gorgeous hunk of a man and you aren't simply born so stupidly sculpted and handsome )

Hair: Ginger. Well ginger to a point there is one single solitary wisp of grey in the very front. He does quite fancy that little wisp of grey and is prone to playing with it in idle moments or when he's about to cheat in Gwent ( bonus fact: that isn't often ronan is just that damn good of a player and almost never loses a game. )

Family: There was one once that existed. He had two brothers and three little sisters - being the oldest himself it should've fallen upon him to take care of them and become the patriarch of the family. Since the witcher that saved his father claimed the right of the law of surprise he hasn't heard of them since. He knows better than to look for them as well knowing that times were hard when he left and they wouldn't have survived very long. Its a sore point but he considers his fellow witchers brothers.

Occupation: Witcher.

About ( this one is a bio mhmm of sorts )

There was family once. Ronan remembers the smell of his mother's hair and brothers and sisters to play with and a father who would teach him there was more out there in this world. He remembers happiness when he was a little nothing of a boy barely able to hold a practice sword or say alghoul without butchering the pronunciation of it all. After all these years he still remembers them. Often in his journals  he'll write about them and there was a point he would secretly write letters home but they were never met with any sort of response. Ronan isn't entirely sure if they're still alive or if they can even read or write. One thing is certain the last time a contract took him to Gors Valen to his birthplace they weren't there and not a soul that lives there now remembers the fisherman, his wife or the score of children they had. Even still if they are there why would they accept that their brother is a witcher?

Young Ronan MacTeer was only five when the witcher named Velles claimed him and took him to train at the School of the Griffin. He fought that day - kicked and screamed and violently refused to go. Velles still had teeth marks in his skin until the day he died from where the young child bit him. A promise was a promise and Old MacTeer had promised his eldest  to the witcher for having saved his life and he would go. His mother wailed and the youngest of his sisters ran after the horse until her feet were unable to carry her. It was the price it was the pledge and it would be honored. Despite his initial resistance and there was a great deal on his part, Velles did become an adoptive father to him. The two came to care for one another very deeply. It still hurts and always will that he essentially has no one else now but he's gained another family all his own of brothers in arms he wouldn't trade any one of them for the world. They are all each other has.

While there were initial bumps this was the beginning of the Knight of the Dawn. He would earn his name soon after he completed his trials and he went through them all. They took a boy and took him apart. After the choice which Velles convinced him of it was excruciating. Witchers in the School of the Griffin hardly thought he would survive the trial of the grasses but Ronan did. When he came through Ronan, just barely a young man, insisted they put him through additional trials. Velles told him it was unnecessary that completing this one was enough and he was now a witcher of the griffin school but Ronan despite the pain it would bring insisted. Noble, gallant, dauntless and incredible stubborn he was already ten times the man most other witcher boys were at sixteen willing to suffer so for the cause he'd been taught to believe in. Yes it made him like all other boys submitted to the witcher trials a foul creation - a freak in their own way but he really and truthfully knew no other life. It was the sunrise on the next day after his final trial where the boy truly became a man. High up in the mountains, higher than any one else including perhaps the monsters they hunted cat eyes open and took in a deep breath. Ronan greeted the dawn as he did every other day only this day was the beginning of the rest of his real life. A monster yes by normal human being standards but who would protect them but a witcher - specifically the Knight of the Dawn as Velles coined him.

Years passed, contracts and contacts came and went and the more harrowing each job became but he greeted each monster with a cunning smile and a silver sword. Those were the days to be wild and alive. Sure enough the Knight of the Dawn earned his name for being noble and a most masterful fighter to his enemies they surely knew him to be a trickster of sorts - never told the whole truth, came for blood, could talk his way out of any situation and had a terrible way of gaining an upper hand but in all that he was still good. Cheated at cards and drank but her was more than most men and had a mind about him to think of more than just himself. Never once did he claim the right of surprise and when they couldn't pay he wouldn't force them too. Then came a day he questioned things. He wondered of his former family. Perhaps it started when Velles died that he wondered if there was more to what they did - more to life. He kept this curiosity quiet, the studying he truly did of the monsters they hunted expanding knowledge in the hope to understand. They were once people were they not as was he? Who in this age wasn't some beast hidden there in the dark? It's always been a thought to gnaw away at him in the lonely days. His wonder of those things went no further because he knew there weren't many of his kind left and that wonder led down a dangerous path no witcher could walk without losing their head. He was faithful to his brothers and he would have their back, even Urbis', to the end. Lonely it was but they were the shred of what family each other had and it was entirely possible they would be the very last of their kind. The life of a witcher was never promised to be kind - their training and the things they've had to do have all but ensured they know their place in the world.

Ronan despite his training, despite the trials that took a boy and tore him apart and made him the witcher he is and even despite his artful ways of dancing around the truth he wondered of love. He wondered and still questions as he fights for coin to rid the world of monsters if he is not more a monster than they are and if there would be a person who would share this cold and bloody world with him? Perhaps it is a fools dream of a life beyond witching? What is sad is he has loved, deeper than some would think a witcher capable of loving; an all consuming love with a woman who loved him just as much and understood that what he was and never feared him for she knew his hands would never harm her if only protect her. He wakes in the night as if he is missing part of himself and reached for the ground beside him to find nothing and it is a haunting loneliness no amount of silver-tonged ability, daring fights, drunken brawls or loose women has helped. He hides it well but it is a gaping hole and it is painful but the knight of the dawn has no other option then the press on because there is no other life than this one. Ronan misses the love of his life not even knowing it is she he's missing not even knowing the empty name he wishes he could call is Orianna... Orianna.

Here he is Novigrad, less of his kind than there was before having accepted another contract but the whispers of the Wild Hunt concern him. Other things have been amiss as well but if the Wild Hunt comes perhaps with it comes his end as well? His arrival here in Novigrad and the arrival of other witchers makes him suspicious that there is more afoot here than the place initially lets on. With that and the thoughts that plague his mind what a time it is to be alive in regards to the Knight of the Dawn for the future is unknown and he is unsure of what lies ahead...

Trivia

Moral Alignment: Neautral

Zodiac: Capricorn

Temperament: Choleric

Sin: Wrath

Norse God/Goddess: Tyr

Witcher School: School of the Griffin - duh

Favorite foods: Meat, seafood, hot biscuits, strawberries and ale. He does like food and has quite honestly a more refined palate.

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Theme Song: Oblivion by M83 feat Susanne Sundfør

WANTED PLOTS:

Oh boy all the things -. the list is endless. HONESTLY LETS PLOT

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

Family Gatherings

This is pure self indulgent fluff. Also the Phone Fic that I keep bloging about. Can be found here on my ao3! Rating: PG (Mild language) Words: 5,112 Gen

Family gatherings are not words generally associated with the individuals who make up Gotham’s vigilantes. Strategy meetings, subterfuge, infighting, assassin, spy, creepy, know it all. These are terms they are well versed in. This is why the text message that Bruce sent out at 9 am on Saturday was such a surprise.

“I request that all of you come to the manor for a family gathering at 7. Alfred will be serving dinner promptly at 7:30. What the hell is that supposed to mean Tim?!” Dick could practically hear his little brother shrugging on the other end of the phone.

“I dunno. Maybe he wants to go over his will.”

“That’s not funny and you know it.”

“C'mon Dick! Like you have a better explanation?”

Dick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “No. Do you think everyone will come?”

“I know Steph and Harper will out of pure curiosity. Everyone else,” Tim paused and took a deep breath, releasing the rest of his sentence on the exhale, “who knows.”

Dick nodded, not really caring that he couldn’t be seen as habit was habit. “Ok. Well Damian will be, Cass for sure, Babs is going to be there cause she hates being out of the loop, Jason…” Dick trailed off, looking down at his bare feet. He’d woken to find the text blinking at him from a half dead phone screen. Knowing that he’d have seen it already too Dick immediately called Tim and had been pacing around the apartment in his pajamas with the now nearly dead cell to his ear.

“Yeah,” Tim said empathically.

“Maybe he’ll come for Alfred?” Dick tried.

“You know him better than I do.”

“You’re right. And I don’t even know why he does half the things he does. I’ve gotta charge my phone. I’ll see you later?”

Tim snorted. “Of course you do. Alright, yeah. I’m meeting up with Tam soon anyway. Bye.”

“Bye,” Dick frowned at the phone. Now that the call with Tim had ended it had returned to the group chat Bruce had sent his text in. Not a single person had replied and Bruce likely didn’t expect them to. Just that they showed up. He stuck it on a charger in the living room and went to get a shower. After breakfast Dick collapsed onto the couch. Having wrapped up a case the night before he decided to reward himself with some video games.

Dick started up Call of Duty, grabbing a controller and his headset. He smiled as he saw that both Roy and Wally were currently online. He started a game with them and as soon as he slipped the headset on he could hear Roy swearing already. “What gives, it’s like 7 or something out there. How the hell are both of you awake and playing video games?” He asked once the cursing died down.

Wally snorted as his character took out a sniper on the screen. “Linda and the kids went to visit her parents. I’ve got the house to myself for the weekend and Bart and I have been playing all night. Kid passed out about 2 hours ago.”

Dick shook his head and tried to figure out how many energy drinks the speedster must’ve downed in order to still be awake. Especially taking into account his metabolism.

“How’d you get out of going with?” Roy tossed a grenade into the building on the screen, causing the whole thing to be temporarily covered in cgi flames.

“I’m the Flash. And her parents don’t know. Plus I’m on call for the League.”

“Then how was staying up all night a good idea if you were on call?” Dick punched a complicated series of buttons that Tim had shown him, taking out the three guys on the roof and the two on the ground.

“Clark’s on monitor duty. I’m just the back up. And nobody does anything in the middle of June. It’s like common knowledge.”

The other two made noncommittal sounds of agreement as they continued to play.

“Alright, Roy what’s your excuse?” Dick tried to reload as they were ambushed from above.

“Lian had a nightmare. I just got her back to sleep about a half hour ago and now I can’t sleep. Living on the West Coast has its perks when your gaming buddies don’t get up ‘til noon and live in Jersey.”

“I don’t know which part of that I should be more offended by. The fact you think I don’t get up ‘til noon or the way you said Jersey.”

“Jersey,” the others replied in unison.

Dick scoffed and pouted, not that it did any good as his friends were in Keystone and Star respectively.

“Alright, you’re chattier than usual. What gives?” Roy asked.

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” Dick sputtered.

Wally paused the game and snorted. “Dude. You’re being nosy. Even for you. Plus you only ever play Call of Duty if stuck on a case or having personal drama. We’ve known you since you were in pixie boots, doesn’t take a detective to know your quirks by this point.”

Dick groaned and put the controller down, scrubbing his hands down his face. “Bruce texted us all this morning that he’s having a ‘family gathering’,” he knew they’d hear the implied air quotes in his tone, “and that we’re all expected to be there.”

“That’s rough,” Wally told him.

“Yeah man. D'you know why?” Roy added.

“No. And I don’t even know if everyone’s gonna bother showing up. He did it in a group chat but there still hasn’t been a response from anyone. I dunno. I honestly think I’d be less stressed if he’d said there was a mass break out at Arkham and we needed to meet for assignments.”

“Ok, that’s depressing. Also the fact that breakouts don’t even phase you anymore? Like? The hell?” Wally said, still obviously on an energy drink high.

“If we start an argument about rogues we’re gonna get so off topic and be here forever,” Dick shot back.

Grumbling could be heard from Wally but Dick was satisfied that his friend wouldn’t say anything.

“Lemme guess. You’re worried about Jason. You think cause Bruce asked you guys to come he’s not gonna bother,” Roy speculated.

“Pretty much,” Dick sighed. “Have you heard from him recently?”

“Sorry man. Last I heard he was running around with that new team of his. I think he’s still a little pissed I rejoined the Titans,” Roy replied.

“Yeah. Ok. Thanks.”

“Not a problem. Whine at us anytime, that’s what friends are for,” Dick could hear the smirk Roy was giving him.

“That and getting drunk at dive bars while listening to crappy cover bands together,” Wally chimed in.

Dick burst out laughing at that. “You can’t even get drunk!”

“So? Doesn’t mean I can’t go with!” Wally sounded wounded but Roy didn’t care about offending the other redhead and Dick knew his friend was about ready to crash and wasn’t going to remember much of this conversation anyway.

“Go to sleep West,” Roy got out between snorts.

“Seriously dude. Way too many red bulls.”

Wally grumbled and finally said, “Fine. Whatever. Text bout what happens,” before signing off.

“So do you think he’ll show?” Roy asked once he caught his breath.

“I honestly don’t know. As far as I’ve heard none of us have done anything to particularly piss him off recently. Not even Bruce. And it was a request, granted he’s going to just expect us all to be there but the text at least made it sound optional. And it said Alfred would be there which is always a plus for Jay.”

“Well good luck and keep me in the loop. I’m always willing to act as an outside opinion on your family’s drama,” Roy told him.

Dick chuckled. “That’s just because it makes your family drama look tame.”

“You bet! We made be loud and extremely dysfunctional but at least we haven’t tried to kill each other.���

“You make that sound like it happens a lot,” Dick whined.

“Dude.”

“Ok, ok. I’ll text you later.” Dick closed the game and pulled his headset off. Tossing it onto the coffee table he laid down on the couch. He was still unsure about what was going to happen later that night but he at least felt better knowing that he had friends who would let him vent afterward.

Dick swung his legs off the couch and stood in one fluid motion. He grabbed his phone, headphones, and keys and decided to go for a jog. It was a nice day, Gotham wasn’t too busy on a Saturday in the early afternoon, maybe he could have a normal jog for once. He returned to his apartment 20 minutes later after avoiding no less than six paparazzi, being cat called about ten times, and literally running into Helena. She had been out for a jog too and while he was trying to lose a particularly insistent cameraman they had both rounded the corner at the same time going in opposite directions. She had not been happy, yelling something about how he should watch where he’s going and “Dammit Grayson! That hurt!” As well as a mix of fairly creative curses in Italian.

Dick had offered to make it up to her but she just waved him off. Saying “You and Barbara are obviously both distracted. Bruce has got you ex sidekicks seriously messed up with these mind games. I’ll just send you Zinda and my next bar tab.” Dick had felt himself visibly pale at that and she had laughed and said not to worry before continuing on her way.

Dick was still pondering over her mention that Babs was distracted too. Obviously Bruce’s text was having some effect on her that Helena had mentioned it. Normally, the Birds were close knit and never talked about personal business with the rest of Gotham’s heroes. Especially not the personal business of Oracle their fearless leader.

Flopping back down on his couch Dick fished his phone out of his pocket. He tapped out a quick text to Babs and hit send, hopping something hadn’t suddenly sprung up that needed her attention. Luckily that wasn’t the case as her response was practically immediate.

~What’s up boy wonder? Helena said you ran into her and that you were super frazzled.

~I was wondering if you had heard anything about what Bruce wants us for tonight.

Her response to that took a bit longer and her words were obviously a bit more measured.

~No, I haven’t heard a thing. Why? Have you?

~No. I talked to Tim this morning and he says that he’s in the dark too. It’s obviously nothing serious but it’s been bugging me all day.

Her response to that was more relaxed. If he had to guess he’d say she had thought he knew something she didn’t, and Dick knew that she hated that.

~Me too! I can’t figure out what it is he could possibly want to talk about that we ALL need to be there. I mean, you boys and Cass yeah. Me, Steph, & Harper? Idk. Have you heard from Damian or Jason at all?

~No. I was going to head over in a bit to bug D though. Nothing on Jay.

~Yeah, same here. I kinda hope he comes at least for Alfred but…

~I was thinking the same thing Babs.

~Oh well. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll talk to ya later pixie boots.

~You’re one to talk miss go-go.

Her response was simply the eye roll emoji and Dick snorted as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He let his head fall against the back of the couch and fell into a light doze. He woke from his brief nap and patted his shorts for his phone. There were no new messages from Babs, Bruce, Tim or anyone else. No missed calls or alien invasions either. The time told him he ought to get ready and head to the manor if he wanted to pump Damian for information. As well as just hang out with his youngest brother.

Once dressed in jeans and a clean t-shirt Dick headed to garage that occupied the basement of his apartment building. Shrugging on a leather jacket and fastening his helmet he gave the bike’s engine a good rev before driving up the ramp and onto the streets of Gotham.

Knowing that the cops would definitely try and stop Dick Grayson for speeding he made sure to restrain himself from weaving in and out of traffic, especially because Nightwing would be pushing the motorcycle through its paces soon enough. Sitting in Gotham wasn’t enjoyable but being able to fly up the manor’s long gravel drive sure made up for it. He pulled in next to Steph’s purple Mini Cooper, glad to see the Compact was holding up for her. He cut the engine and took his helmet off, giving his head a shake to undo any helmet hair.

Bounding up the steps he swung the over large front door open with a shout of “Hello? Anybody actually above ground?”

The sound of running feet could be heard coming from somewhere on the second floor as Dick put his jacket and helmet on the coat rack. He turned just as he heard a sharp “-tt-” coming from the balcony at the top of the steps. Damian stood there with his arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed, the twitch of his lips betrayed his annoyed facade. “Must you be so abhorrently loud, Grayson?”

“Must you be using SAT vocab at such a young age?” Dick shot back with a grin.

Damian rolled his eyes but his arms fell to his sides and his mouth finally turned up into a smile. “Brown and Row have coerced Cassandra into assisting in appropriating my room, the extra person on my side would be helpful.”

Dick chuckled, “Whatever you say Dami.” He ran up the stairs and followed Damian down the hall to his room. Sure enough the three girls were spread over the plush carpeting, nail polish bottles and other manicure supplies between them.

Damian crossed the room and sat himself on his bed next to Titus and Alfred the cat. The three watched the teen girls from their perch, Damian with minor annoyance, Titus with amusement, and Alfred with the type of utter nonchalance only achieved by felines. The girls glanced up at Dick who had paused in the doorway. Cass’s face immediately lit up and she fluidly rose to her feet and came over to wrap her arms around his neck. Dick returned the hug as she whispered a warm “Hi” in his ear.

“Hey Cass,” he murmured back. She let go and skipped back to the others. Harper gave him a small, two-fingered salute while Steph waved with a large smile. “How long have you been here?”

“Too long,” Damian instantly grumbled.

Harper snorted and Steph nearly doubled over in a fit of giggles. Cass quirked an eyebrow at her little brother before calmly sticking her tongue out at him. “We came for brunch with Cass as we had originally planned and just stayed since we all received the super mysterious text,” Steph told him once she had recovered from her laughter, which had doubled thanks to Cass’s antics.

Dick nodded in response and sat himself down on the floor next to them. Damian gave a short “-tt- Traitor.” He did however edge closer to the end of the bed where he could participate in their conversation.

Dick picked up a bottle of forest green polish and examined it. Cass held out her left hand to him, the fingers of which had been painted, to show him the color. He nodded and gestured that she let him do her other hand. Cass turned to face him as Dick shook the bottle. “So have you guys heard anything about tonight?”

“I wish,” Harper said with a slight huff. “He just kinda grumbled and bolted when we asked.”

“Seriously. We were having our lovely quasi weekly brunch and chatting with Alfred and chasing away this gremlin,” she waved her bright yellow nails at Damian who furrowed his brows indignantly. “All of a sudden, Mr I-am-the-night-and-cannot-properly-socialize-without-being-forced-by-my-over-energetic-ex-sidekick-or-alien-and-amazon-besties walks in-”

Dick nearly choked as a laugh burst out of his mouth, interrupting Steph.

“Can I help you?” She deadpanned with a raised brow.

“I’m good. Just, that’s a new one. Keep going.”

Steph sniffed and flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “As I was saying. Bruce walks in and kinda blinks at all of us sitting in his kitchen. Using his surprise to our advantage Harper courageously seized the moment and asked him what exactly this family gathering will entail tonight. He froze, looking exactly like a cat-sized crime alley rat in the batmobile’s headlights, while Cass jumped up to block his exit. I immediately jumped to add my assistance by asking if this means that Harper, Duke, and myself are technically family too at this point. He just blinked, grabbed a muffin, said something highly unintelligible, and beat a hasty retreat.” Steph gave a sharp nod before turning back to her nails.

Dick had to stop doing Cass’s nails as he was trying too hard on not laughing to keep his hand steady. She swatted at him before rolling her eyes and turning to Damian. “Come,” she said, handing him the nail polish. Damian blinked but skootched to the floor next to Cass and diligently began painting her nails.

Dick wiped at his eyes, trying to remember why he had been so against Steph being Batgirl when the two so easily amused each other. “So we’ve got nothing?” he finally asked.

“Nope,” Cass said, admiring Damian’s handiwork.

Harper tossed a bottle of matte black at the youngest Robin and waved her hand toward Dick. Damian blinked but began shaking the bottle and moved to sit in front of Dick. With a shrug he gave his little brother his hand to be painted. “We tracked down Duke then and asked him what he knew. Nada. Honestly we were kinda hoping you’d bring some info with you,” Harper added.

“I’ve got nothing,” he told them with a shrug. “Neither do Tim or Babs.”

“Have you tried contacting Todd?” Damian looked up from Dick’s hand.

“No. He threatened to have baby ducks imprint on me if I called him again.” Damian nodded sagely at that.

“I’m sorry, what?” Harper’s head and eyebrows had shot up.

“He’s been doing that lately. Something about how ‘we all have a death wish but we’ll take care of cute baby animals’ or something,” Steph said, using a poor imitation of Jason’s voice as she acted out his threat.

“You’re kidding?” Harper obviously didn’t believe them.

Cass just shook her head gravely. “No. And baby ducks? No patrol for months.”

“Plus they’re so darn cute like how could you not want to love them?” Steph said in a rush.

“Brown is correct. Also, it is entirely within Todd’s skill set to get them to imprint on one of us.” Damian looked at Harper seriously before turning back to apply another coat to Dick’s nails.

Harper blinked at them before narrowing her eyes, “If you guys are shitting me right now I swear…”

“Scouts honor!” Dick called and held up the three-finger salute.

Damian batted at his hand. “I swear Grayson if I have to redo this,” he grumbled.

“C’mere,” Steph tugged on Damian’s arm and held up a dark shimmering blue. He nodded and allowed her to begin painting.

“So do we have any ideas at least? I know you guys aren’t the type to just let something go,” Dick watched the others.

Cass shot him a smirk. “Understatement.”

There was a knock on the door frame and they all looked up to see Tim and a rather unsure looking Duke standing there. “Alfred told us that you were all up here. Mind if we come in?”

Damian sniffed, “It’s not like my opinion matters at this point.”

“I’m going to take that as a yes…” Tim walked in and took a seat next to Steph.

She squinted at him before leaning forward to search through the pile of small glass bottles. She found whatever one she was looking for and held it up triumphantly. “Maroon?” She asked Tim, waving it just in front of his nose. Tim shrugged and let her pull his hands towards him.

Duke sat down cautiously next to Dick. “So do they always do your nails or…?”

Dick smiled at him. “We don’t really get a say in the matter. Cass just paints them when you fall asleep if you say no.” The girl in question waggled her brows and grinned.

“What about Bruce’s?” Duke asked as he watched Harper shifting through the pile, holding colors up for Cass to consider.

“Ballet Slipper. Once a month,” Cass showed Duke the light pink color. His eyes widened in disbelief and Dick couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, Harper held up a pale orange that both Cass and Dick nodded at. She crawled towards Duke and pulled his hands onto her lap.

“So ideas regarding our impending doom?” Dick asked.

“Like I told you before, I think it’s a reading of his will. He even texted Kate and with the exception of Damian she’s his only living blood relative,” Tim said, peering over the top of Steph’s head.

“Damn Timbo. Way to be morbid. Also, why would I be here if that were the case seeing a how I am legally deceased.” They all whipped their heads to see Jason leaning in the doorway, a smirk on his lips and a nasty glint in his eye. He sauntered in and plopped himself down between Steph and Cass. “Give me the most obnoxious color you have,” he challenged.

“How bout this?” Harper wiggled her own bright metallic pink at him.

Jason scrunched up his nose with a “nah.”

Dick rummaged around in the pile before pulling out a glitter gold. He threw it to Jason who caught it and beamed. “Why thank you Dickie-bird.”

“So, uh, why did you come then?” Duke asked.

Jason shrugged and began to paint his own nails. “You know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat.”

“But satisfaction brought it back,” Duke finished the expression.

Jason gave the other boy a Cheshire smile. “I knew I liked you.” He then continued to add layers of glitter. They all just stared in shock for a few seconds. Jason looked up and his eyes skipped past them as he smiled. “Hey there Barbie. This Batgirl is free for manicure giving,” he said pointing to Cass.

Dick turned to see Babs just outside the door. Her expression was amused but the set of her mouth was definitely her trying to look annoyed. With an eye roll she wheeled herself into the room. “I thought we were supposed to be here for seven. Why is it that we all managed to get here just under three hours earlier?”

Dick pushed himself back up onto the bed so that he would be eye level with Barbara as the others offered up a jumble of explanations. “Paranoia” “Fear of the unknown” “Intrigue” and “Who the hell knows” were the few Dick could make out.

He mumbled “Slow day at the office” and caused Babs to crack up.

“That it is,” she told him with a smile. Cass held up a dark purple that Babs nodded at and before she could get up Dick grabbed the bottle. He turned to Babs and motioned for her hand. They spent the rest of the time leading up to the big meeting sitting in a circle in Damian’s room with painted nails and the animals now nudging for attention.

That was exactly how Bruce and Kate found them when they went looking for them. Dick had seen them coming up the hall and gave a quick jut of his chin to acknowledge them. They had stopped short of coming in though, Kate wearing a huge smile and Bruce his more subdued but still genuine lip twitch.

They stood there for a few seconds, watching as Steph and Jason fell against each other in a fit of giggles. Cass had taken the tiny hair rubber bands and was using them to give Damian braids. Duke and Tim were engaged in a detailed discussion of Lord of the Rings and Harper was letting Babs style her short blue hair. All in all they looked like an average, happy family.

Bruce cleared his throat and they all turned to see him and Kate. Cass leapt to her feet and hopped over the legs of everyone else to go give Bruce a hug. Dick couldn’t help but smile because the hug was obviously more forceful than the one she had given him. Or Bruce hadn’t been expecting it as he had swayed slightly when she had jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck. Kate laughed and ruffled Cass’s hair.

Once Cass released him Bruce attempted to recover by smoothing out the wrinkles in his polo shirt. Dick and the others simply waited, knowing that he would speak when ready. He looked up and gave another small smile. “Thank you all for coming. Kate has… explained to me that having monthly gatherings might help you all with your stress levels and, ah, work on interpersonal relations.”

Kate rolled her eyes and give him a sharp jab in the side courtesy of her elbow. Bruce shot her a wounded look that Dick had to try very hard not to laugh at but his cousin ignored it. “What the stick in the mud is trying to say is that we’re having a game night because you all need a morale boost. Now c’mon, Alfred’s got dinner ready.”

With that Kate turned on her heel and marched back down the hall. Bruce gave a sharp nod before following her in a hasty retreat. They all looked around at each other in a stunned silence. Dick pinched himself for good measure, this wouldn’t be the weirdest dream he’d ever had but it was still good to rule out the possibility.

“What the actual, ever-loving fuck?” Jason finally said.

“What he said,” Harper pointed at Jason, eyes wide.

“Grayson, you have the most experience with Father and his moods. What could this be about?” Damian looked up at him from the carpet.

Dick shrugged and shook his head. “I’m honestly as lost as you are. Maybe we should go eat and, I don’t know, enjoy it?”

They all looked much too suspicious to actually enjoy anything but Dick dutifully herded them towards the dining room. Tim hung back until he had fallen in step with Dick. “You don’t actually think he wants us to play monopoly with him or something?” The younger man asked.

“I really don’t know Tim. Kate’s been getting him to actually be Bruce rather than Brucie or Batman lately and this is obviously all her.”

Tim snorted, “Ya think?”

Dick ruffled Tim’s hair and gained a rather interesting hand flail and cat like yowling combination in protest. Finger combing his hair back into position Tim sent him a glare. “I think we should trust Kate on this one and see what happens. Also, you either need a haircut or one of those ponytails Cass had.”

Tim’s glare turned up to full on bat and had Dick not known the kid, or been just about anyone else, he probably would’ve run in fear. As it was he could handle a few dirty looks from Tim.

Dinner was delicious, as everything Alfred made was. The conversation was semi-normal too. Steph complaining about classes, Harper talking about her work at the clinic, Dick told them about his run in with Helena that Babs then added the other half of the story to. No one made a single death threat, no food or utensils were thrown, and all insults were good natured teasing. For a second Dick thought he fell into a parallel world.

That feeling only got worse as Alfred chased them to the living room while he cleaned up. Jason stayed to help and the butler begrudgingly let him. The two joined the others soon enough and they began an intense game of Cards Against Humanity. Alfred and Babs soon took the lead, surprising everyone except maybe Alfred himself.

Bruce came in dead last, only earning that position by having a single less card than Damian. Steph and Jason tied for second and in a surprise twist Cass won. Kate was still cackling at some of the combinations that had won and Babs was telling her she could send the security footage to her later. They played well into the night and Barbara contacted the Birds to patrol as Bruce indicated that the assembled vigilantes were not leaving anytime soon. By the wee hours of the morning they had all stumbled upstairs to their respective bedrooms with the exception of Kate, Bruce, Alfred, and Dick himself.

He had stretched out on the floor watching as Kate slowly took over the sofa and Bruce was forced to go claim his recliner. Alfred chuckled from the love seat, a late-night cup of tea in hand.

“So how do you think it went, chum?” Bruce asked him once he had settled.

Dick shrugged, feeling his shoulders push against the carpet. “You had us all really worried. Tim was convinced that you were going to read us your will.”

Bruce snorted, Kate cracked up and sat up to be able to look down at Dick. “You’re kidding,” she accused.

Dick smirked, “I wish.”

They all laughed and once it had died down Alfred said, “Well you do have a tendency to have the whole family over only in the case of emergencies, Master Bruce.”

That received a small “Hnnh.”

“He’s right. I was telling Roy and Wally that I would’ve been less worried if it had been an Arkham breakout.”

Bruce shot him a wounded look before frowning at a point just above the fireplace. “I want to try and change that,” he finally said.

“If it helps I think this was a really good start. Monthly family game nights definitely are a thing normal people do. And I had fun, I think the others did too. Even Jason,” Dick told him candidly. Bruce nodded, a small smile forming. “Just next time don’t call it a family gathering. You scared the crap out of all of us.”

[wlwhc]

Dating Clarke Griffin would include:

anon ask: Dating Clarke Griffin headcanons please?

Warning: mention of sex

(A/N): I love The 100 and I love my Baby Clarke

Masterlist / Prompt List / Fandom List / Ask me anything!

super hardcore overprotective girlfriend

you can defend yourself but still

she will worry about you 24/7

“where’s Y/N? is she fine? WHERE’S Y/N?!”

at first being jealous of Finn

learning all about medicinal stuff

every time you guys have a little argument or fight

you will do the silent treatment

she hates it

she’s like a lost puppy following you apologizing for everything

if the next day you’re still not talking to her she would break down

she’s just very scared of losing you

but if it was your fault

she would still be a lost puppy cause she hates fighting

but you apologize immediately

sometimes just sitting  enjoying the silent and the company

happy that you two are still alive

she loves to wake up and see you by her side

she wakes you up with little kisses

she will trace little patterns on your back or arm  if you’re naked

“the princess has arrived”

“*kiss* shut up Y/N”

she doesn’t like when you leave the camp without her

holding hands everywhere, at anytime

she likes to surprise you with flowers or little draws of you

she also likes to draw on you

nose kisses

cheek kisses when you less expect it

when she have to go to a mission or something she will hug you goodbye but she won’t kiss you

“save the kiss for when I come back babe”

saving her ass more times that you like to admit

she saving your ass more times that you like to admit

you drag her away from work when she stress too much

star gazing dates

she admires you a lot

having the super power to  make her laugh at any situation

playing with her hair

she loves playing with yours

checking you out 24/7

other times just watching you work with heart eyes emoji

cuddling everytime she has the chance

using her chest as a pillow

pillow talk about anything

always finding time to be with you

she teaches you a few things about medicine

her mom loving you

she likes to tell you embarrassing stories about her

becoming one of the greatest warriors of Skaikru in order to protect her

being her personal guard

but when you try to protect her she acts like a shield to you putting you aside

she suffers more than you when she clean your wounds

she has a mini panic attack every time someone informs her that you’re hurt

being always there for her

being her shoulder to cry on

“I’m a monster, I’d kill so many-”

“Clarke stop! , I won’t let you go away"

“You deserve something better than me Y/N”

“ we both pull that switch, we’re both responsible for it, you want to go? Fine, but I’ll go with you, We’ll be monsters together

she never takes a decision if you didn’t give your opinion about it

Bellamy being like your big brother

She’s surprisingly jealous

sneaking on your tent when she’s…stress ;)

such a good sex

passionate kisses

hot make-out sessions

long and caring sex

she gets so shy if you take control

she loves when you give good attention to her chest

she’s a moaning mess

she likes to go slow and just enjoying your company and having you so close to her

but when she’s angry or upset

stress or jealous

she’s rought

you won’t walk straight for the next days

hickeys all over your body

scratches on your back

waking up next to this puppy

Hope you like it anon

[junker-town]

The summer’s official top-25 college basketball ranking for the 2019-2020 season

Two months have passed since our last early top 25, and a significant amount has changed.

There are still a few major additions and subtractions that need to be made (Kerry Blackshear, you’re back on the clock), but for the most part, we now know what the rosters for the 2019-20 college basketball season are going to look like.

Armed with that knowledge, it’s time to re-evaluate the super early top 25 posted on the night of Virginia’s national title game win over Texas Tech. The changes, like the amount of defections to the NBA, are significant.

1. Michigan State Spartans

2018-19 Record: 32-7

2018-19 Finish: Final Four

Reigning Big Ten Player of the Year (and likely preseason national Player of the Year) Cassius Winston is back, which means Tom Izzo returns his top four scorers from a team that came two wins away from a national championship. Included in that group is junior guard Joshua Langford, who missed all but 13 games this season because of a stress injury in his left foot. Gifted forward Aaron Henry showed glimpses of his potential late in the season, and has the potential to be a star as a sophomore. Izzo will also bring in a top 25 recruiting class headlined by 4-star point guard Rocket Watts.

2. Duke Blue Devils

2018-19 Record: 32-6

2018-19 Finish: Elite Eight

The big three are gone, but point guard Tre Jones will be back in Durham for his sophomore season. Some mixture from the group of Alex O’Connell, Jack White, Javin DeLaurier, Jordan Goldwire and Joey Baker will have to step up and flourish in expanded roles. Another elite recruiting class headlined by 5-star big man Vernon Carey will also help to make life after Zion more than tolerable for the Cameron Crazies.

3. Kentucky Wildcats

2018-19 Record: 30-7

2018-19 Finish: Elite Eight

Per usual, Kentucky is dealing with a decent amount of attrition from last year’s squad, which includes the loss of the team’s top four scorers from 2018-19. Even so, starting point guard Ashton Hagans is back, as is the frontcourt duo of EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards. With the annual top five recruiting class headed to Lexington, the Cats figure to once again be right in the thick of the national title hunt.

4. Villanova Wildcats

2018-19 Record: 26-10

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

Leading scorers Phil Booth and Eric Paschall are gone, but there’s still reason to believe Villanova will be better in 2019-20 than they were this past season. Collin Gillespie, Sadiq Bey, Jermaine Samuels and Dhamir Cosby-Rountree should all take steps forward. Jay Wright will also welcome a top five recruiting class headlined by two five-star players — Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Bryan Antoine — who should be good enough to start from day one.

5 Kansas Jayhawks

2018-19 Record: 26-10

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

They occupied just about everyone’s top spot in these rankings a year ago and wound up having a season that didn’t come close to meeting those expectations. Now, this figures to be an extremely interesting offseason for a Kansas program that’s in something of a weird place. Even so, with Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike back, it seems more likely than not that the Jayhawks will return to form as a Final Four threat.

6. Louisville Cardinals

2018-19 Record: 20-14

2018-19 Finish: First Round

Chris Mack’s first season at Louisville was a success in the eyes of most. Year two figures to be even better thanks in large part to the last-minute decision of Jordan Nwora, the ACC’s Most Improved Player for 2018-19, to return for his junior season. Mack brings back all but one of his top eight scorers from last season, and also welcomes in a top 10 recruiting class headlined by 5-star McDonald’s All-American Samuell Williamson.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders

2018-19 Record: 31-7

2018-19 Finish: National Runners-Up

As long as Chris Beard is back in Lubbock, a preseason top 10 spot feels justified. Beard loses four starters from his national runner-up team, including star Jarrett Culver. He’s countered that by bringing in a strong recruiting class and landing some key transfers, including Virginia Tech’s Chris Clarke and Stephen F. Austin’s T.J. Holyfield, who should be able to start from day one.

8. Virginia Cavaliers

2018-19 Record: 35-3

2018-19 Finish: National Champions

The reigning national champs lose their three leading scorers, but return key contributors Braxton Key, Mamadi Diakite, Jay Huff and Kihei Clark. We’ve certainly seen Tony Bennett do more with less.

9. Maryland Terrapins

2018-19 Record: 23-11

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

Maryland came just seconds away from crashing the Sweet 16 last season. The return of both Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith should give the Terps ample opportunity to get that bad taste out of their mouth next March.

10. Memphis Tigers

2018-19 Record: 22-14

2018-19 Finish: NIT Second Round

There’s no question that Penny Hardaway can generate headlines and piece together elite recruiting classes, but the jury’s still out on him as one of the next big-time coaches in college basketball. We’ll be much closer to a verdict after next season when Penny has had a chance to coach a talented roster led by the nation’s No. 1 freshman, James Wiseman.

11. North Carolina Tar Heels

2018-19 Record: 29-7

2018-19 Finish: Sweet 16

For the first time since 2011, the highest-rated freshman in the ACC won’t be playing for Duke. Cole Anthony will be down the road in Chapel Hill, hopefully keeping the Tar Heels back in their usual spot near the top of the conference standings. Even with Anthony and a pair of top-tier grad transfers joining the fold, it seems impossible for UNC not to take a step back after losing Luke Maye, Cam Johnson, Kenny Williams, Coby White and Nas Little.

12. Seton Hall Pirates

2018-19 Record: 20-14

2018-19 Finish: First Round

Head coach Kevin Willard turned down Virginia Tech, and then two months later star guard Myles Powell turned down the NBA. Now, Willard should have a team fully capable of making Seton Hall’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2000.

13. Gonzaga Bulldogs

2018-19 Record: 33-4

2018-19 Finish: Elite Eight

The somewhat surprising defection of Zach Norvell was a blow, but Killian Tillie’s decision to stick in Spokane for another year should keep Gonzaga near or inside the top 10 in most preseason rankings. A top 10 recruiting class and the addition of grad transfer Admon Gilder (Texas A&M) cushions the blow of the Zags losing their top four scorers from a season ago.

14. Arizona Wildcats

2018-19 Record: 17-15

2018-19 Finish: No Postseason

Brandon Randolph staying in the draft was a blow, but with Brandon Williams and Chase Jeter back, and with one of the nation’s top-ranked recruiting classes on its way to Tucson, it’s looking like last season’s disaster may wind up being an isolated incident.

15. Tennessee Volunteers

2018-19 Record: 31-6

2018-19 Finish: Sweet 16

Few teams were hit harder by the stay or go decisions of the last two months than Tennessee. The Vols lose their top three scorers from last year’s 31-win team, but Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden are back to form what should be one of the best backcourts in the country.

16. VCU Rams

2018-19 Record: 25-8

2018-19 Finish: First Round

The Rams return their six leading scorers from a team that was a single digit seed in the 2019 NCAA tournament. Mike Rhoades’ squad figures to be the class of the Atlantic 10 for a second straight year.

17. LSU Tigers

2018-19 Record: 28-7

2018-19 Finish: Sweet 16

Maybe the most intriguing team in these rankings. With Javonte Smart and Skylar Mays back and five-star freshman Trendon Watford joining the fold, the Tigers undoubtedly have top 20 talent. The issue is going to be how well the players are able to block out the noise that will constantly follow the program and newly re-instated head coach Will Wade.

18. Iowa Hawkeyes

2018-19 Record: 23-12

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

Tyler Cook staying in the draft keeps this from being a top 15 team, but Jordan Bohannon and Luka Garza should both be among the biggest stars in the Big 10 this season.

19. Purdue Boilermakers

2018-19 Record: 26-10

2018-19 Finish: Elite Eight

Matt Painter loses two senior starters as well as star junior Carsen Edwards, who’s off to the NBA. Nojel Eastern, Matt Haarms, Trevion Williams and Aaron Wheeler might not form a nucleus strong enough to get back to a regional final, but it’s certainly a nucleus strong enough to once again finish near the top of the Big Ten standings.

20. Saint Mary’s

2018-19 Record: 22-12

2018-19 Finish: First Round

The Gaels only got into the Big Dance because they stunned Gonzaga to win the WCC tournament. Their inclusion in the 2020 field of 68 shouldn’t be laced with nearly as much drama.

21. Utah State Aggies

2018-19 Record: 28-7

2018-19 Finish: First Round

Utah State returns its top four scorers from a 28-win team that captured a share of the Mountain West’s regular season title and won the league tournament. Sam Merrill has the potential to be one of the sport’s biggest stars in 2019-20.

22. Ohio State Buckeyes

2018-19 Record: 20-15

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

Kaleb Wesson coming back solidifies the Buckeyes as a preseason top 25 team. If the big man can get more help from his backcourt this season, they should be a lock for a single digit seed in the NCAA tournament.

23. Washington Huskies

2018-19 Record: 27-9

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

Jaylen Nowell staying in the draft hurts, but Mike Hopkins has two of the best freshmen in the country in Isaiah Steward and Jaden McDaniels. The addition of Kentucky transfer Quade Green also looms large.

24. Florida Gators

2018-19 Record: 20-16

2018-19 Finish: Second Round

Andrew Nembhard, Keyontae Johnson, Noah Locke and a loaded incoming freshman class make for a dangerous core. The Gators won’t get a significant amount of preseason national love, but don’t be shocked if they’re in the thick of the SEC title race come February.

25. Marquette Golden Eagles

2018-19 Record: 24-10

2018-19 Finish: First Round

The return of reigning Big East Player of the Year and likely preseason All-American Markus Howard was enormous, but the loss of the Hauser brothers takes the Golden Eagles from inside the top 10 to the brink of falling out of the top 25.

The Next 10:

26. Auburn

27. Houston

28. Cincinnati

29. Xavier

30. Davidson

31. Creighton

32. Colorado

33. Mississippi State

34. Baylor

35. Michigan

[sebeth]

Injustice: Gods Among Us #1

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 Injustice Gods Among Us Volume #1 by Tom Taylor.

The series opens with Batman reflecting on present day Gotham: “The night is no longer broken by the sounds of crime.  Children are no longer woken by the sudden crack of a gunshot.  There are no more cries in the darkness…In a way, it is the Gotham I always dreamed of.  But this is no dream.  This is a perversion.  This is a nightmare.  It is the silence of fear…Our world is now ruled by the iron fist of a man of steel.”

5 Years Ago…

Clark awakens to the sound of a second heartbeat coming from Lois.  Clark launches into a monologue without even informing Lois that she is pregnant: “We need to get everything checked thoroughly.  I’ll contact STAR Labs.  There are people I trust to be discreet.  There shouldn’t be any danger in the first trimester but I’m not leaving it to chance.  We’ll need a bigger place, obviously.  Maybe we should consider moving away from Metropolis.  Smallville would be a much safer and more private place to raise a child with powers.  Although I’d prefer Metropolis High to…”

A frustrated Lois throws a book at Clark’s head.

“Did you just throw a book at me?”

“You’re invulnerable, I should be able to throw satisfyingly hard objects at you sometimes.  I’m glad our fetus has a high school already, but I need you to slow down that super-speed brain.  Let’s just enjoy this moment.”

Lois receives a tip that Councilman Ives is taking a pay off at the docks.

Clark offers to come with Lois but she rejects the offer: “I don’t remember you being so protective before you found out I was pregnant…I’m not spending nine months sitting on the couch getting fat while you go out and fight death rays.  That’s not how I operate.”

Clark senses trouble in the city.  Lois urges Clark to “go save the world” and reassures him that she will have Jimmy Olsen with her.

Cute scene with a spot-on Lois and Clark dynamic.  Of course, it all goes downhill from here…

Superman encounters Batman beating up thugs in Metropolis.  Batman explains “I’m on my way to STAR Labs.  Something sensitive was taken.”

Superman tells Batman he has news.  Batman responds “Lois is pregnant…You’re sweating, your pupils are dilated and your left hand is shaking.  You don’t usually show any outwards signs of stress or fear.  The last time I saw you this afraid, you were facing Doomsday. And I doubt it’s Doomsday, you’re grinning like an idiot.”

The above scene is the first of several echoes of Kingdom Come.  In Kingdom Come, Clark and Diana attempted to inform Bruce that they were expecting only for him to beat them to the punch.

Clark asks Bruce to be the baby’s godfather – another call back to Kingdom Come.

Clark and Bruce’s scene establishes their close friendship before everything goes to hell.

Lois and Jimmy are ambushed by Harley Quinn and the Joker at the docks.  The Joker murders Jimmy Olsen.

Clark finds Jimmy’s body in the morning.  A Joker card lies next to Jimmy’s corpse.

Batman is at STAR Labs. He was contacted by the scientists as the “sensitive material” stolen was kryptonite.  Superman arrives at STAR Labs and begs Batman to help him find Lois.

Batman immediately issues a priority call to all Justice League members – active and reserve. Green Arrow, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Flash are seen responding to the call.  

I love this scene because Batman called for help!  I seriously hate douchebag Bat-God who treats his allies like crap.  Batman realizes a pregnant woman is in the hands of the Joker and, more importantly, he knows that the Joker didn’t go to Metropolis to simply murder a photographer and kidnap a reporter.  Time to bring in the big guns.

Batman orders the Flash to search the entire city.  Flash discovers the corpse of Scarecrow.  The cause of death is Joker venom.

Wonder Woman discovers that Joker and Harley hijacked a submarine.  Superman captures the submarine and storms in.  Clark sees Lois strapped to an operating table surrounded by the Joker and Harley.  Green gasses are visible in the room.  

Superman sees Doomsday, mutters “No…Lois.  The Baby” and attacks Doomsday.

Harley mutters “Baby?”

Superman heads into space with Doomsday.

Harley is upset that they are abandoning the submarine.

Joker and Harley are captured by Green Lantern (Hal Jordan).  Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash have also arrived on scene.

Joker reveals the nuclear missile on the submarine is buried in Metropolis and the timer is in Lois’s heart. Metropolis will explode when Lois’s heartbeat stops.  Batman realizes that Joker mixed Scarecrow’s fear toxin with Kryptonite.  Batman frantically calls Superman to prevent him from murdering Lois.  It’s too late as Superman finally realizes that two heartbeats are coming from Doomsday. Unfortunately, Clark and Lois are in space and Lois perishes from exposure and the beating she received from Superman.

Metropolis erupts in a nuclear explosion.

The ending scene was brutal. Poor Clark lost everything but his parents in one day.  Lois, the baby, Jimmy, Perry, Maggie Sawyer, Dan Turpin, John Henry Irons, Natasha Irons…the entire city of Metropolis!  The guilt, the self-loathing, the utter sense of failure….it would break any man.

The opening issue is one of numerous examples of why I feel Harley is as irredeemable as the Joker.

Harley happily stood by as the Joker murdered Jimmy, tortured Lois, and destroyed a city.  One of the biggest cities in the DC universe. The death toll would have been in the millions.

In every continuity, with the possible exceptions of DC Bombshells and DC Girls, Harley is a murderous psychopath:

Injustice – Aided in the murder of Jimmy, Lois, the baby, Scarecrow, and the population of Metropolis.

DC Cinema Verse – Helped the Joker murder Jason Todd

DC Animated Verse – Helped the Joker torture and mutilate Tim Drake

Arkham Verse – Multiple murders, probably helped the Joker torture Jason Todd

Post-Crisis to Flashpoint: Helped the Joker with multiple murders including Sarah Essen-Gordon, stood by as the Joker attempted to murder a room filled with infants

I don’t buy the abused woman excuse for her actions.  Harley, a trained psychiatrist, chose to fall in love with the Joker.  The Joker!  Joker had murdered dozens, if not hundreds, of people by the time he met Harley.  She didn’t fall in love with the Joker because she’s abused, she fell in love with him because she was a budding psychopath herself.  Is Harley abused now?  Yes, but hello, Joker!

Harley Quinn = amusing but not a good person.

The fact that Harley’s actions are allowed to slide by the “good guys” is my biggest pet peeve of the Injustice series.

[onlykeithpowers]

You might know Keith Powers from his runway/campaign days, but lately, the model-turned-actor has been slaying TV screens! From MTV to BET, he’s definitely one to watch, so naturally, VULKAN had to chat with the star about his first role, adjusting to fame, celebrity crushes, to what’s coming up in 2017. Be sure to catch him on BET’s 3 night miniseries, “The New Edition Story,” where Powers portrays the iconic Ronnie Devoe, airing January 24th-26th.

Before you became an actor, you were a model, walking some pretty prestigious runways and representing some incredible brands. What was your favourite moment from your time as a model? 

I think my favourite moment as a model was being at work, being creative, and seeing the final product. I wasn’t really in love with it, but it was good for me because it kept the bills paid. 

 How did you get into it?

I was recruited by J.E. Models in San Francisco; I was living in SF at the time and football wasn’t going as planned. It wasn’t all peachy right away and I still had to figure everything out. I moved to L.A. and still wanted to play football. I had a retail job, but decided to give modeling a shot anyway and try to get signed. I went to a meeting with Ford Models but they didn’t accept me and from there, I went to J.E. Models and they said they would recommend me, as opposed to me going by myself. They recommended me to Wilhelmina and I was like no, they won’t sign me, but I went anyway! After two days went by, I called them and asked what was going on, and they were like, come on down…and they signed me! The rest is history.

Are there any brands or models that you’re still hoping to work with? 

I just want to do campaigns for my favourite brands; Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, stuff like that.

Did you ever find yourself drawing inspiration from another model’s career?

I always thought Nathan Owens was cool! I really always liked his career, but a modelling career was never one that I “had to have!” It never did anything for me, and I knew it wasn’t in my heart.

Do you think your experience as a model prepared you to be an actor? Why or why not? 

Definitely! It got me used to being in front of the camera and on set with a full crew. I look at it as a blessing and I know that everything happens for a reason. It prepared me for the world of acting. Sometimes, you think you’re ready for something and you’re really not, and when I was started modelling, there was no way I was ready to be an actor. The modelling process really helped me with the basics.

What encouraged you to become an actor and what steps did you take to achieve this goal? 

The performances encouraged me to get into acting and people laughing, crying, and talking about what they saw on TV. It really inspired me to become an actor. I want to inspire people, I want them to laugh and cry and be in awe. I want people to see me and feel like I do when I see Will Smith. He makes you want to be on his team, and I want people to feel like that with me. That’s the luxury of being an actor and a storyteller. 

Can you tell us a bit about your first-ever role? What was going through your mind when you first stepped on set?

I acted in a movie called “House Party: Tonight’s the Night” and I was frightened to be on set and do something like that! I’m not going to lie, I’m so happy that I did that because that was when I fell in love with acting. We shot the film in South Africa, which was crazy! My first job I ever did, and I got to shoot in South Africa…how many people can say that? I was so nervous, but I felt like a natural; I was scared but I was ready. I was like, “this is what I’m going to do now.”

So from the get-go, you knew that acting was your niche, not modelling? Yeah, exactly! I felt it instantly. Whenever I’m acting, I never feel like I want to go home. When I’m on set, I never want to leave, even when I’m tired. I just feel the most joy when I’m doing it.

What did you enjoy the most about playing Theo on MTV’s “Faking It?” 

What I loved about playing Theo was that it was the first time people saw me on TV and they fell in love with that character. Even though his love interest was wrong, they (the audience) still stood by him. It was a great way to introduce me to TV and I got a better understanding of the episodic structure. “Faking It” opened a major door for me and it was so amazing to do because it was comedy and I had really wanted to make people laugh and I still do…and the show was a perfect introduction! 

We see that you have a crush on fictional character, Khaleesi, from “Game of Thrones.” Are there any real life celebrity crushes you can tell us about?

I’ve always loved Halle Berry and have a huge crush on Emilia Clarke who plays Khaleesi. She’s so strong in that role. What I look for in a woman is what Khaleesi is; strong, independent, and someone who takes charge like a boss. I really love women of the 90s-J Lo, Salli Richardson, Nia Long, and Julia Roberts. Nowadays, I think Zendaya and Zoe Kravitz are pretty epic. I love natural looking women and their simple beauty, not when they look like Barbie dolls. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s just not for me!

In “Straight Outta Compton,” you played Dr. Dre’s younger brother, Tyree. What did you do to get into character? Did you feel any pressure to be a part of a biopic that told the story of the legendary, NWA?

That was a huge role, and I felt like a had a big responsibility to play Dr. Dre’s little brother, so my whole thing was just to make them proud, before anyone else. I thought, my job is to make Dr. Dre happy and proud, that’s number one and I’ll let everything else fall into place. The film became an instant classic! I knew it was going to be big, but I never thought it was going to become what it did. I was so focused on making Dr. Dre proud that I didn’t realize we were making a classic. 

Speaking of biopics, you’re set to star in BET’s 3 night miniseries about music group, New Edition, which comes out this month! Can you tell us a bit about the role and how it was different from your other ones? 

This one was different because I’m singing and dancing, playing a character who goes through three different eras, and I’m a lead! I’m portraying a member from a legendary group and I’ve never danced before, and I had to learn how to do a Boston accent. It was totally different, it was amazing, and I’m super happy about it. I’m excited!! 

Did you get the opportunity to meet New Edition? If so, what was that moment like for you? 

Meeting New Edition was CRAZY! I hadn’t even been booked yet; they were still putting me through the ringer, I was the last person to be casted. Even though I was dancing with the main cast, it still wasn’t 100%. So when I met them, it made me want it even more because the whole group was behind the project and I knew I HAD to book it.

Were there any obstacles that you had to overcome while playing this role?

The dancing, for sure! It was the first time I ever felt like I was going to quit because I just couldn’t get it down. I was so frustrated and so when I did finally get it, I realized that you really could do anything you put your mind to. I was casted late, so I had a shorter time to learn the routines and even when we started shooting, I still wasn’t fully ready, but it was crunch time and it was now or never! 

 What was your most memorable moment from the set of “The New Edition Story?”

It was performing in front of the extras and the original members of the group. Seeing them watching me was so nerve-wracking. I’m performing in front of the people that were living this! That was really memorable because I knew I had to get this down and I had to represent Ronnie Devoe right.

Like being someone’s understudy for his or her real life?

That’s exactly right! 

 At what moment will you know that you’ve made it as an actor?

I think the moment you know you’ve made it is when you don’t have to audition anymore! I feel like I’ve made it…I still audition just not as much anymore. When you know you’re solid in this industry, is when they call you and know who you are. You’re choosing what you want to do and have more control. At the end of the day, though, it’s all very personal. If you want to do one commercial and you did it, than you’ve made it! That’s what matters the most, because when you compare your career to others, you stress yourself out. You can’t compare your career to someone else’s because every career and path is different.

What’s been the hardest part to adjusting to a life of fame?

Right now, it hasn’t been too hard! I’m just trying to remain humble and down-to-earth. I don’t want people to feel like they can’t talk to me because I’m a celebrity. I want to be that guy you can walk up to in a grocery store and have a conversation with, not be surrounded by bodyguards and unapproachable. I just want to show people that you can make it in this industry and still be a human! We’re not robots. I want to be there for the people. I learned that from Mike Tyson, with what he said about Floyd Mayweather, who I love, by the way. Tyson said that Mayweather isn’t a real champion because he can’t walk the streets by himself; he needs bodyguards because some people don’t like him. A real champion can walk the streets like Muhammad Ali did, a champion for the people. It stuck with me because I want to be someone for the people, not someone you see on TV and then see in person and can’t even come up and talk to. I don’t want to be that! My whole thing is staying grounded so the adjustment hasn’t been that difficult.

2017 is shaping up to be a huge year for you! Which parts are you most excited about and what can we expect from you in the future? 

I’m excited for all my projects to drop and for new fans to meet my work! “Famous In Love” comes out April 18th, “The New Edition Story” airs the 24th, 25th, and 26th of January on BET, and “Reality High” comes on Netflix in the summer! I’m excited for this year and I think it’s one of the most important ones of my career…it’s a big year and I just have to play my cards right

[thorinss]

NEED MONEY. SIGNAL BOOST.

okay so i definitely feel like a piece of shit doing this because my situation is nowhere near as dire as other people on this site who need money. and by all means please donate to those who are in desperate need of extra funds because while i am struggling here, i can probably get by.

here’s a quick rundown of my situation:

(Skip down to the TL;DR section if you want the gist of everything)

I’m a 24 year old Digital Media Production college senior, which is fancy words for film student. I have a full 16 credit course load this semester.

Basically I work three jobs but only one of them is a paying position. The other two are technically internships and I need them for experience and resume building purposes. My classes and the third job are cutting drastically into the hours for my paying job this semester, which means I am getting shitty paychecks until May when the semester ends. I haven’t even received a paycheck since December 22 due to an illness that knocked me on my ass and put me out of work for two weeks.

My next paycheck should be on February 3rd but until then I only have $12.81 in my bank account to live off of until then.

I have a $95 phone bill due in three days that I cannot pay. 

I make $9 an hour, 13 hours per week, with two other unpaid jobs in between, and 6 classes. There’s no way I can possibly afford any of this with my time schedule, which at no point is going to slow down.

TL;DR I am very poor and will continue to be very poor until May. I have a $95 phone bill due in three days and $12 in my bank account currently. 

Right now all that I ask is you donate whatever you can but I need at least $100 asap. There is now a paypal donate button in my sidebar. I know my situation is not dire and there are far worse things happening to people on this site that your money can be better suited for. But I really do need help and if you can spare some cash, I would really appreciate it.

I do not have much that I can give in return but if you donate any amount of money, no matter how small, I will do something for you if you wish. I am on a horrible time crunch with my schedule but I will make you something. I am not the best in any of these departments but it’s all I can offer.

Gifs/Graphics/picspams/edits - just sift through that page and take a look at my stuff. It’s been a minute since I’ve made a proper graphic but I will 100% do anything you want. Just as long as it’s a fandom I am familiar with.

Videos - I can edit raw footage or make a fanvid for a couple/show/character. In the case of a fanvid, please make sure it’s a fandom I am familiar with - otherwise it will be too difficult for me to work with UNLESS you are willing to provide the footage, which is doable but can be a pain in the ass. Here are a few links to my better videos to show you what I am capable of: one, two, three, four, five. In the case of raw footage, you would have to contact me so we can thoroughly discuss what you are looking for.

Writing fic - I am definitely not the best writer and it does take me a while to complete something because I hate everything I write lmao but I will write you some fic if you’d like! I would feel most comfortable writing Shevine, Clark/Lex, White Collar, Star Wars, LotR, or anything else that I am super familiar with. Just talk to me about it and we’ll figure something out.

If you donate and are interested in me creating something for you in return, please contact me via here on Tumblr or by email (joneskr92@gmail.com). We can exchange numbers, email, kik names, or whatever is easiest for us to communicate.

If you are thinking about donating and would like further details about where I am financially or need me to clear up anything, please don’t hesitate to ask! I only included the bare minimum info so I don’t overwhelm everyone.

ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE (NOT NECESSARILY RELEVANT AT THIS TIME):

My school highly recommends that I eventually purchase a lot of high end industry-standard equipment, which is super fucking pricey. This ensures that I have what I need in order to be successful during the rest of my time in college as well as beyond into the workforce.

I need about $200 worth of school supplies for this semester.

At some point in my future I also have to build a $800 - $1000 computer capable of video editing. A lot of my school projects, as well as my future career, depends on me being able to work and edit from home. I also cannot do freelance video editing work without a computer.

I am also being implored by the school faculty to purchase a nice camera which can range in the $1000 price easily.

This equipment will be used for my school work up until graduation and will still be used after graduation as well, as I intend to be a video editor.

These are not my main concern for the moment but I am including them because there is no way I will be able to afford all of this, even when I am working full hours at my paying job.

SECOND ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE (ALSO NOT CURRENTLY RELEVANT):

I live, rent free, with my older brother, his wife, and their two kids. I am doing relatively okay in this living situation but unfortunately my brother does have certain characteristics similar to those of our abusive father, whom I used to live with prior to Fall 2015. I love my brother and he is a giant goofball, but with my severe social anxiety and depression, living with him can be stressful. In many instances, he’s the one who unintentionally causes a lot of my anxiety or depressive episodes. He often makes me feel useless or worthless, like a waste of space. He constantly ~jokes~ about how he can’t wait for me to move out and pressures to me to save as much money as I possibly can which, as you can tell, is very difficult right now. He ~jokes~ that if I don’t make good grades and save a lot of money, he’ll kick me out of the house. I understand he wants what’s best for me and I do love him and appreciate him for letting me live with him. But he constantly (and unintentionally - I gotta stress that because he’s not a bad person, he’s just a bit of a hardass workaholic who makes 100k a year and never has to think of money as an issue) makes me feel stressed and invalidates any good work I actually do. If I have $700 saved, he tells me I should have $800. If I get an A- on an exam, he tells me it should have been an A.

Living with him makes me anxious and stressed. While it is nowhere near as bad as living with my dad, it’s enough anxiety and stress to the point where I never feel comfortable in the house.

So, as a second side note, I am trying my best to save up for an apartment so I can live with my boyfriend - who is the sweetest person on the planet and I always feel deliriously happy and safe when I am with him. That is the type of living situation I need to be in for the sake of my mental health and the success of my future. I cannot function properly in a home where I am constantly anxious about not living up to my brother’s insane expectations. I need my own space, with someone I love, where I can take care of myself.

The whole point of this is that any leftover money (if I even get any. I don’t know how any of this works or if I will find any success at all lmao I’ll probably make $4 total and finally be able to afford that cup of grapes in the dining hall) will be set aside for apartment purposes.

Again, if you are thinking of donating, thank you, and please don’t hesitate to voice any concerns or ask any questions. I will be 100% open and honest about anything in relation to this post. 

If you cannot afford to donate, please just share this post so others can see.

Thank you!!!!!!

UPDATE 1/27: you guys are the sweetest and the best and donated around $150 which is more than enough to pay my $95 phone bill this month and have around $50ish leftover for any food or gas money needs. i can’t thank you guys enough. 

i will still be accepting donations for the school supplies mentioned above and apartment savings but none of that is a 100% necessity right now. my priority was the phone bill and that has been taken care of thanks to those who donated.

i will possibly make a new post that just focuses on the school/apartment/living costs but like i said, those can just sit on that back burner for a bit. at least until i see how much money i get in this next paycheck, which should be on february 3rd (next friday).

again, thank you guys so much!!!! i hate doing things like this and my boyfriend found out about it last night and it embarrassed the shit out of me lmao but i love you all and appreciate this so much.

the donate button will remain in my sidebar because i am still going to be struggling this semester but the urgent bill paying shit is out of the way for now so i can breathe again.

thank you!!!!

UPDATE 1/27 #2: I have made a separate post talking about the other financial problems I currently am experiencing. please take a look!