#desk assistant scarab is a thing also

[punkrock-confetti]

Yooooo whatttttt who’s this bozo

[renaroo]

Some Times (Time and Time Again) (1/8)

Disclaimer: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics.  Warnings: Canon shaken not stirred, Heavy canon references to Booster Gold (2009-2011) and Blue Beetle (2016-2018) Pairings: Boostle Rating: T Synopsis: Booster Gold and the rest of the Time Masters are still straightening up things in the wake of the most recent universal Rebirth. But Rip Hunter is still missing in the aftermath, leaving Booster in charge with Skeets, Michelle, and Rani. But there’s a distraction for Booster, one he can’t keep himself from ignoring. 

Ted Kord, miraculously, is still alive. And that makes everything more complicated than Michael could have ever imagined. 

A/N: I’ve been toying around with this idea for what feels like forever, at least since the Rebirth books got launched over at DC, and I finally got time to really sit down and work it out. I’m really excited for this fic and hope it’s decent enough for some of you out there!

Blue Beetle

Life without an assistant, as it turns out, is shockingly compressed on time.

Jaime doesn’t need much help on his progress as the Blue Beetle, but so long as he is the Blue Beetle, Ted has no interest in slacking on the kid’s training. Assistant or no assistant.

With his laptop balancing precariously on his knee, and himself balancing precariously on the sloping hood of the Beetle, Ted is attempting to keep track of company stocks, a slack chat with members of his board, an incoming tech report from some computer analyst he hired out of Jaime’s high school last week, and not waste too much of his bagel in the process.

Despite the distractions, however, Ted’s real concentration is still on Jaime’s blaster as it destroys thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours of equipment in the simulation fight.

It’s what Ted built it for, but still…

“Seriously, Mister Kord, I have to go meet my mom in, like, fifteen minutes,” Jaime shouts out over the sounds of debris dinging against the lab’s metal floors. He’s not even looking in Ted’s direction as he wastes another AI dummy that is gunning for him.

Feeling himself sliding a bit, Ted kicks back against the Beetle some to get back on his perch, his computer bobbing with the jarring, bagel bits flying. He wonders if an assistant would have helped with the bagel parts. And then he plays back the memory of Jaime’s highly pitched complaints.

“Hey, hey! How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not Mister Kord, kid, it’s Ted,” he argues on the important part.

Jaime’s suit unites his hand blasters into a single canon and blasts through more expensive equipment. He then looks over his shoulder and squints his large, buggy yellow eyes at Ted. “Maybe you should stop calling me kid then, Ted! Also, you’re missing the part where I’m warning you about a very angry Missus Reyes.”

Ted answers an email by holding the remains of his bagel between his teeth. Then he tilts his head back and swallows what he can, choking a bit, and accidentally sending a string of keyboard smashes to his company’s board of executives in response to a question about why so much money is being poured into Extraneous Funding. Bits of extraneous funded superhero training material flies toward Ted and the Beetle and if Ted didn’t know any better, he’d think Jaime was aiming in spite.

“Watch it, Jaime! I just buffed out the last dent in the Bug,” Ted warns, using his not-free-but-freer hand to rub the glistening hood to his side.

There’s a keening noise coming from the scarab on Jaime’s back that is only matched in annoyance by the groaning that Jaime’s doing on top of it. “Mister Kord!”

“Ted!”

“Ted! My mom! Ten minutes!”

Stock prices do dip, there’s another email update from this needy El Paso kid-slash-computer-genius, the board is up in arms at the insufficient response, Ted feels his stomach churning either in response to the million nasty things happening or to his bagel. And it all culminates in a tremor through his lower spine.

Despite or because of everything happening, Ted slips more from his spot, his body shifting and sliding right off the nose of the Bug. He, and all of his things, hit the floor in a clatter that manages to get Jaime to turn away from his training simulation entirely.

“Whoa! Ted, are you okay?” he asks just before getting hit by a blaster from behind.

“See! Never let your guard down!” Ted manages to yell before rolling over onto his back and laying in his mess of a lab and mess of a life. “Not even for your great and mighty mentor.”

He continues to lie on the floor, noting mentally that it’s surprisingly comfortable given that everything exploding in the lab eventually ends up there. It’s only when his vision is obscured by Jaime — no longer in his suit — staring down at him that he centers himself at least enough to be responsible for the teenager that he’s totally responsible for.

“Are you okay, Mister Kord?” Jaime asks, brows knitted in a little bit more genuine concern than what he usually offers Ted.

“I thought about it,” Ted answers with a harrowing breath. He releases the breath and melts into the floor a bit more. “And no. But who, at thirty-six, can truthfully say yes to that question.”

Jaime looks at him like he has three heads.

“Talk to me again in twenty years and we’ll laugh about it,” Ted promises him. “Get out of here, I don’t need a scary-angry Missus Reyes and you deserve a break. What’d’ya say?”

“Okay cool,” Jaime says, immediately walking away.

“You cold offer to help me up!” Ted yells after him.

“Do you want up?” Jaime asks from the doorway.

Ted stares at the ceiling and considers it. “Get out of here kid, I need to find a new assistant.”

“See you later, Mister Kord,” Jaime calls, closing the door behind himself and the last laugh.

“Kids,” Ted huffs to himself. “I need an assistant my age. No. Ten years younger. So I can watch the hope and youthful naivety die. That should sustain me. Think like a corporate CEO. Socioipathy. Hating kittens and… breathable oxygen or something.”

There’s a long silence in the lab, just Ted with himself and his thoughts. And when those turn scary he finally manages to get himself up, gather his things, and to start working on the next project.

Finding his new personal assistant.

There has been a stack of portfolios on his desk for a while, now, a few days at least. And he should be going through them for review but he hasn’t.

They all look the same on paper. Even the one written in German.

There isn’t enough time, and he’s only getting shorter on time the longer he goes without a personal assistant who is literally a speedster.

Time’s a funny thing that way.

Ted finds ways to waste more time without fully committing to any project or any responsibility in a way that matters before giving up in defeat and burying his head into the paperwork on his desk. There aren’t as many pings from his computers and he could probably rewire some of the broken lab equipment sooner than later, but he’s not really doing anything by the time his bagel fullness has subsided into the ache of needing a lunch break.

Which, on a normal day, is when Ted can finally get a hold of everything and pick a direction. He doesn’t really get the opportunity, though.

His head is still on the desk when an unfamiliar, radiant light picks up somewhere in the center of the lab, sending out a subtle heat that dies down with the light itself.

It hasn’t been that long since lizard people attacked so it doesn’t automatically raise Ted’s hackles the way it probably should, but it does at least get him to look up from his desk and see that the light was from some sort of transportation used to enter his lab.

And the one who used the transportation was none other than his best-friend-then-gone, and oddly out of touch, for years.

Booster Gold stares at him from the center of the room, his goggles resting up on his hairline rather than on his nose, letting Ted see the way Booster’s eyebrows ruffle together. They then raise in almost shock as he continues staring Ted’s way.

Ted blinks a few times. “Mikey?”

There’s a deep breath from Booster before he even blinks. Then he shakes his head, as if trying to parse reality, before finally looking at Ted again. “Beetle!” he blurts out, like it’s something he hasn’t gotten to shout in years.

Which, who knows, maybe he hasn’t.

“Did you just teleport into my office-slash-laboratory?” Ted tries to figure out.

“Of course I did!” Booster shouts again, laughing forcefully. He almost seems hoarse already.

“That’s… weird. Since when could you teleport?” Ted continues to question. “Also why? And. Uh. Hello. Been a while.”

“It has been. It’s been… way too long,” Booster continues, seeming breathless. “Wow. Okay. Cool.”

He seems so incredibly happy and relieved and just all these other emotions that Booster doesn’t wear comfortably.

And Ted, well, he’s growing impatient the more the confusion lingers.

“Yeah, it’s like the last time I saw you was in a car commercial,” Ted says flatly.

“Ha, yeah,” Booster replies without any weight to it.

“Probably because it was,” Ted leans in.

That, at least, seems to bring down the thousand watt smile to something closer to a nine hundred. “Oh.”

The air becomes stale unbelievably quickly.

“Yeah,” is all Ted can manage to say.

Booster continues to stare at him, some of the disbelief finally fading into mild concern. Which, Ted kind of hates because only Booster could make him feel like the bad guy for pointing out the truth.

Well, maybe other people, like a well paid assistant someday in the near future.

“Did we leave off on bad terms?” Booster asks, obviously fishing.

“I don’t know,” Ted answers honestly. “Did we?”

With that, Booster’s brows furrow again and he tilts his chin down, running his hand through the back of his hair nervously. “Hell, I don’t know. I.. There’s been a lot, y’know. Just. A lot. And… I didn’t know I could… if you…”

There is something to Booster’s words and actions that feels disconnected. He’s holding back a lot, which is weird. Because it’s Booster.

But the sentiment, well, Ted knows it all too well.

“Yeah, I get it. Me, too,” Ted huffs. “I guess… I mean. There’s not a whole lot to hang out about when, well, I’m retired and you’re… not? I guess. I don’t know where you even live anymore.”

“I can’t… really retire from the current gig,” Booster announces, again with that veiled subject. But he’s quick to change topic. “And there’s every reason to hang out with you. In fact, I’m glad you’re retired. Fuck, man, you better be retired and…” He stops himself short, pinches the bridge between his eyes, and then comes back to focus. “I came to ask if you… if you wanna get some drinks?”

“You teleported into my office-slash-laboratory to ask if we could get drinks before noon on a Tuesday?” Ted asks incredulously.

Booster blinks, looks around the mess of a lab, and then looks at Ted again. “Uh. Yeah?”

Ted considers it only for a second before sighing and coming to his feet. “Okay, fine, you’ve convinced me.”

“Wow, that took… no work whatsoever,” Booster says in vacant surprise.

“It’s been a hell of a morning and I want to figure out what’s different with you,” Ted announces. “I mean, again, last time I saw you was a car commercial—“

“Did I look good in it?” Booster asks almost mindlessly, his gaze a thousand yards past Ted at the time.

“No, the whole thing was on your bad side. You know. Where your chin looks bad,” Ted responds sarcastically, looking Booster over. “Seriously, what’s up?”

“Just drinks,” Booster promises, holding up his hands.

Ted squints at him. “Drinks and… mole people? Time eating octopus? A heist for J’onn’s Chocos?”

“Do you really think so little of me?” Booster asks, actually looking at Ted again. He seems… strangely earnest about it all. In a raw, painful kind of way.

Ted leans back, worried. “Uh. Did someone die?”

“No,” Booster laughs. Only, it’s not just a laugh, it’s an uproarious joyful kind of noise from the back of Booster’s throat. “Isn’t that the greatest thing you’ve ever heard? Isn’t that the best news I’ve ever given you? No one’s… Everyone’s… Wow. I sound like I’ve lost my mind.”

Booster walks past Ted and all but collapses into Ted’s desk chair, crumbling like a fallen tower, until his head has fallen between his knees.

Ted is stunned. And worried. Mostly stunned.

“Jesus, Michael,” Ted manages to get out as he approaches his friend. He looks around his desk, grabbing for the menus he knows are somewhere among the rubbish. “We’ll just order and have something delivered here for lunch. How’s that sound?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Booster continues hoarsely. “That sounds… Yeah, that’s an amazing idea, Teddy.”

At the sound of his old nickname, Ted has to pause looking through low sodium options and instead really looks at his friend. He’s pale and has bags under his eyes. There’s a certain unkempt nature to his hair and it’s sticking up behind his ears like it hasn’t been trimmed in a while. He’s clean shaven, but there’s the dusting of five o’clock shadow on his left cheek from an uneven shave.

It’s the worst Michael has looked to his knowledge. At least short of any life-or-death situations.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Ted not so much as asks as he demands.

“A lot,” Booster answers.

That’s not good enough and it explains nothing. And normally Ted wouldn’t think twice about saying as much. But for the moment, in that uniquely personal and miserably resigned way, Ted gives a gentler “Okay” instead.

When the air grows stale again, Ted tries a different approach.

“Is there anything you can tell me?”

Booster smiles just enough that his dimples make themselves known. “You’ll never have any idea how happy I am to see you again, Ted.”

Despite his confusion and concern, Ted can’t help the no-doubt dorky smile that comes to his face. “Right back at you,” he says, and it’s so truthful it hangs heavy in his voice. He offers up, in a mousy way, his fist. “Blue and Gold?”

There’s a brittle honesty to the expression of relief and appreciation in Booster’s face as he takes his own fist and bumps his knuckles against Ted’s. “Blue and Gold,” he says back almost reverently.

For a moment, Ted wonders how this is going to end, if it will be too soon or too long. He’s just strangely concerned and glad all at once that it exists at all.

So, of course, predictably, it ends too soon.

There’s a flash in the center of the laboratory, just like before, only this time both Ted and Michael are looking in its direction before it’s even over.

Booster manages to voice his surprise before Ted even has the chance.

“Skeets?” Booster’s voice strains.

“Michael, you’re needed for…” Skeets’ synthesized voice hesitates, if such a thing is possible for an AI, and the shiny robotic body shifts into Ted’s direction for a moment. “Hello, Blue Beetle.”

“Hey, I have a secret identity,” Ted jokes, waving to his Blue Beetle themed tee and the Bug.

Skeets, ever the comedic one, does not even acknowledge the detectable sarcasm in Ted’s voice before turning back to Booster. “Sir, you have an… appointment. With Rani.”

Ted can’t help his eyebrow raising and he looks toward Booster for clarification. He’s never heard the name Rani before, at least that he can think of. And he definitely hasn’t heard the name in connection to Booster.

But there is immediate recognition in Booster’s eyes. His body tenses up and he seems immediately more put together than he has appeared since teleporting right back into Ted’s life. He doesn’t even seem to realize that Ted is looking directly at him.

“Is she okay? I mean, does it have to be right now or…” Booster trails off, looking to Ted.

“I have been sent after you, Michael,” Skeets deadpans.

“Can’t you reschedule?” Ted asks, a little put off by all of this rather sudden and unexpected developments.

“It’s not that kind of date,” Booster says, getting to his feet and then flinching at his own words. “It’s… not a date at all it’s…” He seems uncomfortable in his own skin for a moment, scratching at his chin. “You…uh… I guess we should catch up. Soon. Like, really soon. You don’t know Rani? Really? Damn. I mean…”

“No,” Ted says flatly, crossing his arms as he sits back on his desk. “I guess we should catch up soon. Like over a lunch or something.”

“Okay, great,” Booster says, walking forward.

“I’d say pop in any time, but that seems to be the assumption—“ Ted begins to snark, but he’s cut off almost immediately by the tight embrace of Booster. It’s so tight it nearly knocks the air out of him.

Booster’s been working out since they last got into shenanigans together, it feels like he’s cutting off Ted’s circulation almost just through the hug. It’s warm, though, and it feels like the sort of emotional explosion that Ted would expect after years. Without the random teleportations and promises of lunch left thus far unfulfilled.

After a moment of the hug, Ted is finally able to gather himself enough to hug back, too, patting Booster’s shoulder as he does so.

“I miss you, too, buddy,” Ted says.

“It won’t be long, I’ll… I can promise that,” Booster says, finally letting go, holding Ted’s shoulders at arms length. “There’s just… some really hard stuff to explain going on right now.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Ted jokes as Booster lets him go. “It’s… uh. Well it’s good to see you again. And will be again. Soon. Ish? Right?”

“Definitely,” Booster promises, getting close to where Skeets is in the center of the lab. “I’m… It’s great to see you again, Ted.”

“Uh, yeah,” Ted responds, waving just as the flash of light from before happens again, disappearing along with his best friend and his best friend’s robot from the future.

He remains where he is, leaned back on his desk, and tilts his head to the side.

“So how do I explain any of this in my log today,” he wonders out loud. After a long moment, he shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. “Blue and Gold Nonsense it is then.”

[mafiabosstsuna]

Oh HI! Okay, sorry about that! How about Xanxus, Squalo and Mammon reactions finding out their Cloud is female and how they'll treat her after they find out? THANK YOU!!!!

COMPLETE

~Some humor…?~

admin adelheid

Xanxus

Blood red eyes stare back at you from the darkness that hidmost of the Varia Boss’ features but you stare back.

You have been badly injured during a mission while savingcomrades caught in an explosion the squad you were leading had walked rightinto.

You had known it was a trap. Had known it the moment youstepped right inside the building your targets were supposed to be in. You justdidn’t count on the strength of the explosion nor the slowness of your men’sreactions despite your earlier warnings.

So now here you are; bandaged and barely capable of movementas you waited for Lussuria to come and heal you. And that was only if the man before you allowed it.

“So,” he finally growled, his voice as gruff and rough asever. “Care to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

He nodded towards your bindings, the ones you are currently hidingunderneath your blankets. The curvy, womanly shape that you have desperatelytried to hide since the moment you joined the Varia. There was no helping it.You can’t hide it now.

“You demanded my Family’s heir for a recruit in exchange foran alliance,” you began. Your voice quiet and sincere despite the pain youwere feeling. “My father knew my half-brother won’t survive your training. He’stoo young and too weak. If he breaks here then it will shame our Famiglia infront of the Vongola. It would be like a huge billboard advertising the factthat we’re weak and vulnerable. So he ordered me to replace him.”

“Half-brother?”

You smile a bit bitterly. “I’m my father’s bastard. I’m theFamily spare.”

Xanxus scowled at you. He knew more than anyone that bloodmattered more to inheritances than the skill and strength of any outsider. “Howthe hell do you fight better than the legitimate heir then?”

You shrug and sigh. “My mother begged him to take me in when I was much too young so I started training early. Wehad no money and she wanted a better future for me. Besides she was going toget married. I’m not welcome in her new family. My father didn’t want his wife thinkinghe’ll make me heir so he had me trained as a hitman without any pampering. I’ve been doing hits sinceI was twelve.”

“Heh, so that’s why they’re still fucking standing. Tsk.” Xanxusstood up and grunted in irritation. “Stay still. We’re still waiting forLussuria to get back from his mission. The pain meds are over there on thetable beside you. You’re in for a long fucking night.”

He was almost at the door when he turned around and threwsomething at you. You caught it despite the excruciating pain the movement caused you.You open up your palm and blinked away the sudden barrage of tears that suddenlythreatened to spill from your eyes at the sight of the Varia Cloud Ring sittingin your palm.

“You dropped it during the explosion; your squad went backfor it. You should have told me it was too loose. What if you’d lost it, youfucking idiot?”

Squalo

You set down the stack of newly finished files on Squalo’sdesk and the Varia Rain Guardian looked up at you in grateful relief. Since themoment you had been promoted and started helping out with the paperwork you hadbecome Squalo’s new best friend.

He scowled though, when he saw the big wet stain on thefront of your shirt.

“Voi. What the hell happened to you?”

You sighed and absently wiped at your coat with a hand asyou answered. “Kitchen accident this morning. Bel tried to cook.”

Squalo stood up at that in alarm. Last time Belphegor triedto cook, he almost burned the fortress down and roasted them all in their sleep.“WHAT?! I TOLD THAT LITTLE TURD NEVERTO SET FOOT IN THE KITCHEN AGAIN! I’M GOING TO KILL THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!”

You hummed absently before arranging a few of his finishedpapers in a filing cabinet. “It’s okay, I’ll change later. It’s not like alittle melted spatula will kill me.”

Squalo’s scowl chased you, though. “Voi! Are you forgettingwe’re having a meeting with the Cavallone in ten minutes? I am not going to stand there and let that horseshit Dino bait me with how I’m letting you guys get fucking sloppy! Getchanged!”

“Sir, my room’s up in the east tower two miles from here. Iwon’t make it.”

“Then grab something from my room, idiot! Just roll the sleevesup and tuck the edge in and you’ll be fine!”

“That’ll stilllook sloppy.”

“VOI! At least it’s clean!Now GET!”

So you left and entered the bedroom next to Squalo’s office.You’ve been there before and since you used to be on laundry duty you knewwhere his coats were. Just as you were taking off your shirt the door opened,much to your horror and Squalo gaped at the bulges on your chest practically spillingout of the bindings you keep them trapped in. You hastily replaced the soiledshirt back on as your face made war with itself, alternately going pale and red and vice versa.

“Sir, I can explain―”

“What. The. FUCK?!”

“I’m sorry!”

“SORRY?! YOU’RE A―”

“SHHHHH!!!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘SHHHHH’?! GET DRESSED, YOU FUCKING MORON,WE’RE TELLING XANXUS!”

“But―”

“NO BUTS!” Squalo was so angry he was as red as a beet as heglared and yelled murder at you. “DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING IDEA WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU HAD YOU BEENCAUGHT BY THE ENEMY IN ONE OF YOUR MISSIONS?! THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS TREAT FEMALEPRISONERS WORSE THAN THEY DO MEN! AND THE FACT THAT YOU’RE OUR FUCKING CLOUDWOULD MAKE THEM WANT TO MAKE YOU SUFFER THREE TIMES WORSE! GET DRESSED, YOUGODDAMNED IDIOT! I’M MAKING THE BOSS PAIR YOU UP WITH ME DURING MISSIONS FROMNOW ON!”

Mammon

He certainly wasn’t impressed by the scrawny you who hadappeared during recruitment day. He had expected you to die on the first round.But you showed them that appearances could trulybe deceiving when you knocked down all twenty nine of the other recruits andcame up the last one standing. Sure you were bruised and bloodied all over butyou had survived without even a whisper of complaint.

Squalo had then kicked you into the lowest Varia ranks andexpected a lot of whining at having to do lowly chores like cooking, cleaningand laundry. It amused Mammon to witness the Varia Rain’s disappointment andimpressed countenance when you not only didnot whine but you even exceeded all his expectations. The Varia had noteaten so well in so long.

Gradually you graduated to group missions and displayed yourcompetency and leadership skills. Your missions were glorious successes anddone with minimal use of force. You weren’t shy about culling a disobedientsubordinate if he endangered the mission but you were also willing to save acomrade when injured during an operation. Added to all this was the fact thatyou are a Cloud user. An elementmissing around the vastness of the Varia’s Sky.

And Mammon was assigned to see if their new recruit was upfor the position.

So far Mammon cannot deny your talents and work ethic. Youwere also gaining popularity among the other officers. Even the Mist Arcobalenohad found being paired with you pleasant since you didn’t talk much despite thefact that you were not a hopeless imbecile.

And yet the Varia’s Master of Illusions sensed the lie you weredesperately trying to hide. He did not know what the lie was quite yet, onlythat you hid it so well iron walls and gates sprang whenever the mind readertried to expose the secrets of your mind. He was all for having you promoted asCloud Guardian but he cannot do that without finding what your secret was. Ifhe did not expose it then he failed as an esper.

“You called for me, sir?”

That was the other thing that he liked about you. You werepolite and addressed him correctly even from the beginning. It spoke a lotabout your sharp common sense that the Varia would not keep a child in theirheadquarters just for the hell of it.

“Yes.” Mammon said as he floated on top of his desk. “Youwill assist me in cleaning my office today.”

You didn’t even flinch. Another reason why he liked you. “Yes,sir.”

He had truly thought it would be safe. It had been months since he had cleaned his officeand he was hoping that having it cleaned with you today would give him somesort of idea on how to resolve the conundrum of your mystery. He had completelyforgotten that the rare man eating scarabs he managed to steal from a pharaoh’sgrave in Egypt had the tendency to eat through metal so it startled Mammon whenyou screamed like a girl all of a sudden while dancing a jig in the middle ofhis office clawing at your clothing.

Now while screaming like a girl was certainly anunimpressive feat in the Varia’s fortress (Levi and Lussuria have a tendency todo that given various situations), Mammon found it strange that despite thedanger to your life, you stubbornly kept your clothes on.

“Fool.” Mammon tsked and then waved a hand to startdisrobing you by tearing open your shirt.

Wherein a pair of rather impressive feminine curves strainedagainst the bindings wrapped around your chest.

Scowling, Mammon had Phantasma transform into a snake and regretfullyroasted the insects in indigo Flames. True it did not burn them, but it hadleft them all dead by crushing the minds under their pretty little jewel-likeshells.

“Sir, I’m sorry!” you try to get up but the pain from thebites you have received made it difficult. “Please, sir―”

“Just so you know,” Mammon cut you off in irritation. “You aregoing to owe me for the scarabs, the fact that I saved your pathetic littlelife and the advice I’m going to give you right now. Tell Xanxus. We can’t let our future Cloud Guardian be mistaken for a man. That will bea total of ten million dollars. Have it ready by Friday next week. I don’t wantit mixed up with Verde’s payment for testing his new Lightning based inventionon Levi’s head.”

[robertmcangusgroup]

The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – Archaeological News From Around The World

Friday 22nd September 2017

Good Morning Gentle Reader….  The end of the week is with us and what a week it’s been Trump and his speech, Massive Earthquake in Mexico, Spain raiding the offices of the Catalonian Government in Barcelona, all we need is the UK government to decide to renege on Brexit and we have a full house… but while all of that has been taking place, things that are under the land and sea have been rediscovered and as it’s Friday that’s what we are here for.. So having completed my walk with Bella and with a mug full of Colombian Coffee on my desk let’s have a look at what they found…

WORLD WAR I–ERA GERMAN SUBMARINE FOUND….  WEST FLANDERS, BELGIUM—BBC News reports that the wreckage of a World War I–era submarine has been found in the North Sea. The type UB-II vessel, thought to have been snagged in a cable and sunk by a mine, is expected to hold the remains of 23 people—a crew of 22 and one commander—according to West Flanders Governor Carl Decaluwé. The upper part of the submarine was damaged, but its hatches are still shut, and the conning tower is said to be intact. Periscopes and torpedo tubes have also been spotted on the sea floor.

WORLD WAR II DOG TAGS UNEARTHED IN ENGLAND….  NORFOLK, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that dog tags, a piece of window from a B-17 Flying Fortress, and the grate from a wood-burning stove were uncovered at a former Royal Air Force base in Norfolk. Members of the United States’ 100th Bomb Group were stationed at the site during the Second World War. The excavation was conducted by the University of East Anglia, with assistance from the American Veterans Archaeology Recovery Program, the 100th Bomber Memorial Group, and the Waveney Valley Archaeology Group. The archaeologists hope to reunite the tags with their owners or their descendants.

EXCAVATORS RETURN TO THE MINOAN PALACE OF ZOMINTHOS…. PSILORITIS, CRETE—Recent excavations at the Minoan palace of Zominthos uncovered two entrances, an internal stairway, and a second-century A.D. Roman coin, according to The Greek Reporter. The first entrance, on the northeast corner of the palace, led to a sanctuary with an altar and featured an anteroom with two desks. The second entrance, on the southeastern corner, is said to be in poor condition. It had been modified by the Mycenaeans and the Romans, and was damaged by looters in the 1960s. An internal stairway and the remains of ten-foot-tall walls indicate that the building was multistoried. The upper floors were supported by central pillars. The excavation also revealed floors made of glittering limestone and pebbles. Traces of frescoed mortar has also been found on the walls. In another area of the palace, above a metallurgical workshop, a claw-shaped pendulum and a vase decorated with the image of a pig were uncovered. Next door, the excavators found a small bronze scarab that had been made locally, and sea shells.

CAVE PAINTINGS IDENTIFIED IN SPAIN…. CANTABRIA, SPAIN—The International Business Times reports that four new sets of cave paintings in northern Spain have been identified with 3-D laser scanning and photometric techniques by a team led by Roberto Ontañón of the Museum of Prehistory of Cantabria. The sites had been identified by speleologists, but the images were degraded and difficult to see with the naked eye. “These technologies allow you to detect colors beyond the range of the visible spectrum (infrared to ultraviolet) and, in this way, ‘reveal’ paintings that at first sight are imperceptible or difficult to distinguish,” Ontañón explained. He estimates the paintings are between 20,000 and 30,000 years old.

PAINTED JADE MASK DISCOVERED IN CLASSIC-ERA MAYA TOMB…. ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI—According to a report in Newsweek, a burial chamber at the Maya site of Waka’, which is located in northern Guatemala’s Laguna del Tigre National Park, has yielded a 700-year-old jade mask. The mask helped the researchers from the U.S.-Guatemalan El Perú-Waka’ Archaeological Project to identify the tomb’s occupant as a member of the royal Wak dynasty. It had been painted red with cinnabar, along with the ruler’s remains, and was found under the ruler’s head. The mask depicts the ruler with the same forehead hair decoration worn by the Maya maize god. Ceramic vessels, spondylus shells, jade ornaments, and a crocodile-shaped pendant carved from shell were also recovered from the tomb. David Freidel of Washington University in St. Louis explained that the Maya of the Classic period revered their rulers as divine, so the king’s tomb turned the royal palace acropolis into holy ground.

PORPOISE BONES UNEARTHED AT MEDIEVAL MONKS’ RETREAT…. GUERNSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS—The remains of a porpoise have been unearthed at the site of a medieval religious retreat on the island of Chapelle Dom Hue, according to a report in The Guardian. Archaeologists expected the carefully dug grave to contain human bones, and were surprised to find a porpoise skull and other body parts. “If they had eaten it or killed it for the blubber, why take the trouble to bury it?” asked States of Guernsey archaeologist Philip de Jersey. He suggests that the body could have been salted and kept in the hole as a way to preserve it. The bones will be studied by a marine scientist.

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the Archaeological news from around the world this, Friday morning… …

Our Tulips today are taking me down a track to I know not where but until the block on Facebook comes off I will follow it and see where it leads...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Friday 22nd September 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus