#fool around with martian fashion

[rhymesswith]

I have zero desire to try and make original designs for these kids when the rest of you have already perfected them.

[thebrownssociety]

Across The Serververse, Chapter 9

About an hour after the last chapter Bugs stood with his arms folded looking critically at the...thing that Marvin and Wile.E were telling him was a car. It looked, to Bugs’s critical eye, very much like a jagged rock. This would be because it was a jagged rock, a deep jagged rock, hollowed out to create a drivers seat, a steering wheel somehow forced into it and four wheels haphazardly slung onto it. In a bid to make it personal to him Pepe and Penelope had painted it orange and were proposing he call it ‘The Carrot.’ Not th most original of names, but there you go.

“So...lemme jus’ get this straight.” Bugs said, slowly. “Ya want me ta actually drive this thing?”

“Of course.” Marvin said, sharply.

“It’s perfectly safe.” Wile.E added. “Trust us. We’re geniuses.” 

Despite having the perfect set-up Bugs - with great effort - made no jokes or witty comebacks and instead positioned himself in the drivers seat, popped a helmet on [safety first and all that] put his seatbelt on and then raced off to join the others.

‘Sweet moither of carrots, this is fast!’ Bugs thought to himself as he zipped round corners and up and down the sides of hills. No wonder the Wacky Racers all seemed to look permanently startled!

After a good half an hour Bugs saw his first car and - tightening his grip on the wheel - pushed down the accelerator. The car lunged forward with such speed Bugs was left in the air for about two seconds before being pulled back into his drivers seat by the seatbelt. 

He landed upside down and hastened to right himself. When he did manage this the first thing he saw was a cliff coming towards him so he grabbed the wheel and turned away from the cliff somehow managing to end up back on the path. Heart nearly beating out his chest he panted and briefly thought of his house and nice comfy bed before giving himself a slap and readjusting his hands more tightly on the wheel. He WOULD get Sam back even if it killed 'im.

Bugs pressed down the accelerator and zoomed off, this time managing to stay on the track. He was on there a while actually, about 45 minutes before he saw the first car. Annoyingly it wasn't Sam's and Bugs wasn't familiar enough with the world of wacky racers to identify it. It wasn't Penelope Pitstop or Peter Perfect he knew that.

As he tried to overtake, one of the toons (a caveman) leaned over and whacked him on the back of the head with a club. "Hey!" Bugs cried as the caveman tried to batter him senseless. "Cut it out! Yer damagin' me ears!"

The cave man ignored him and Bugs - in a fit of anger - turned the wheel sharply causing the car to whack into the side of the cavemen's (there were two of them) car which, in turn, sent them flying down the side of the cliff.

There seems no need to go over every racer, but suffice to say that Bugs through a mix of intelligence; trickery and, in one if two cases, blunt force, managed to eventually reach Sam. Not that he was exactly hard to miss. The gold that his car was painted saw to that.

"Sam!" Bugs bellowed, trying to be heard over the sound of the engine. "SAM"

The pirate twitched and tightened his hands on the steering wheel, a grim line of determination on his face. In hindsight Bugs should have recognised that look for what it was. Sam was In The Zone. Any attempts to distract him would surely end in tears. However, in that moment, seeing as he was literally *that* far away from him Bugs grabbed a megaphone out of hammerspace and screamed into it. "YOSEMITE SAM!"

Sam - not expecting that - wobbled dangerously and his hands jerked of the wheel sending the car spinning of the road.

Bugs winced and braked making the car shriek as he did so. When the dust had cleared he looked left and right then hopped out the car and ran across to the wreck. "Sam!" He called, worriedly. "Sammy, are you alright?"

There was a long pause, during which Bugs started composing songs for Sam's funeral, then a pale hand grasped the wreckage of the car and - with a dramatic gasp - Yosemite Sam pulled himself out of the wreckage and mustered enough strength to look straight at Bugs and growl. "I hates you."

Bugs took the statement with good grace and, holding out a hand, pulled Sam from the wreckage. "An' dere I was t'inkin' you'd be glad ta see me." He said, teasingly.

Sam glared and, adopting the voice of a posh upper-class englishman [think Mac and Tosh] said. "It may have escaped your here notice, Mr Bunny, but you have just WRECKED MY CAR!"

Bugs blinked and shrugged, giving the easy smile that always worked with Daffy. "Eh...Oi crushed Wile.E under a boulder. He was happy ta see me."

Sam glared and pointed at the smouldering wreck that had once been a car.

Bugs followed his point and, feeling a stab of guilt, mumbled. "Yeah...so dat's not great..."

"IT'S WRECKED!" Sam screeched. "An YOU ah wrecked it!"

"Well..." Bugs murmured as the feeling of guilt intensified. "Technically you're hands were on the wheel-"

Suddenly without warning Sam's eyes welled up with tears and he started blubbing. "Ya don't understand! Tha' car-" He indicated the smoking pile of metal. "-took me 3 weeks ta make! To craft! From scratch! They wouldn't let me race until ah had a car!" 'They' Bugs presumed to be the Wacky Racers. "An' now I've got it it's-ah taken me four an' a half month to claw ma way ta fourth - fourth! - place! This - this! - was gonna be mah chance to crack at least top three! An' now it's gone! An' it's all YOUR FAULT! An' ya not even sorry!"

Bugs's guilt was to string for him to ignore now and he said, aiming for a placating tone. "Look Sam, I'm sorry, oi really am! I didn't know the car meant that much ta ya. We'll-" He thought quickly. "We'll get it fixed! Look, gimme a minute-" Bugs got a flag out his hammerspace and shoved it into the ground. "I claim this planet in the name of Earth!" He said, clearly.

As was expected Marvin appeared a few foot away from him and walked over with his own flag. "I claim this planet in the name of Mars!" He said, briskly. "Now, what is it you want, earth-creature?"

Bugs looked at him with a attitude that said 'really' and nodded his head at Sam. Marvin looked over at Sam and clapped his hands together. "Oh, Yosemite Sam! It's SO good to see you again!"

"Likewise brother." Sam said, gruffly as they hugged. "Now what can you do about my car?"

Marvin frowned and walked over to the wreckage. He made a few calculations and walked round the wreckage about five times all while muttering in Martian. Neither Sam or Bugs were fluent in Martian but they could pick up some words. 'Idiots', 'disaster' and 'time' being the main ones. Well after half an hour Marvin made the final notes on his checkboard and speed-walked over to Bugs and Sam, looking grim. Bugs and Sam immediately sat up and looked interested.

"The car is very nearly a write-off." Marvin announced, in his usual blunt fashion. "How it survived at all is beyond me. However it is fixable." He grimaced. "It'll just take a while."

"Eh...how long's a 'while', Doc?" Bugs asked, conscious that this whole thing was on a time limit.

"How long have we got?" The Martian asked, thrown for a loop.

The rabbit did a quick calculation. It didn't take long. "13 days." He said. "An' den Rhythm does Jones knows what. Give up hopefully. But de fact is we need ta get everyone back within those 13 days or they'll be..." Bugs couldn't even bring himself to say the words, a weird lump forming in his throat.

Thankfully Marvin understood [it helped that he had already been brought up to speed on the stakes offscreen a few chapters ago.] and he said, quickly. "Don't worry it will certainly take less than 13 days. Less than 13 hours probably, if we all work together and you listen to my instructions exactly without any fooling around..." Here he narrowed his eyes at Bugs.

Bugs was not an idiot. The meaning was clear and, although normally he might happily 'fool around', there was to much riding on this for him to do so. Really, strictly speaking, he should probably insist they leave Sam's personal junkyard behind, but he knew if he did that the pirate would never forgive him. And contrary to what people may think Bugs didn't want to upset his on-screen 'enemies' TO much...

"Well den." He said, brightly, clapping his hands together and smiling at Marvin. "Whadda we waiting for? Lets call de oithers and get fixin'!"

[jackoshadows]

The Expanse and GOT Spoilers.

I have been doing The Expanse re-watch to prepare for the best season ever - season 5 - starting on the 16th. And the writing is so good, even for the secondary characters and their relationships. I can’t help but compare it to the garbage writing on the more popular Game of Thrones.

Watching season 3, and the character dynamics between Camina Drummer and Klaes Ashford is what I think Benioff and Weiss wanted between Jon Snow and Sansa Stark in seasons 6 and 7. There is a tug of war for power and leadership between Drummer and Ashford and the same holds true for Jon and Sansa. Scene for scene there are parallels of the conflict between the characters on both shows.

But context matters. Drummer and Ashford actually work because she’s the new, younger leader in charge of the Behemoth and Ashford is the older, more experienced leader who thinks he should lead because of his experience. On the other hand, it does not work at all with Jon and Sansa. In their case, Jon is the older, more experienced and knowledgeable leader and Sansa is the younger sibling trying to make the case that she knows better than him and therefore should be the one making the decisions.

The Expanse actually lays out and explores in detail the conflict between Drummer and Ashford. They spar and argue with witty dialogue and good delivery of lines that makes the case for both of them. Each character knows and is clear about where the other character stands. They know what the other character is trying to do. That makes their scenes exciting and interesting to watch.

Ashford: Camina, you have nothing to worry about from me. I am here to be your first officer and I have no problem with that.

Drummer: You believe you should be in command.

Ashford: Ah, of course I do, but this is not about experience. It's about politics and perception.  Fred has Protomolecule, Dawes has Cortazar, and they both need this ship.  And neither one of them cares if you or I are happy with the arrangement.

Drummer: Ah, finally, some truth.

Ashford: I haven't lied to you...

Drummer: Yet...

Ashford: But my point is that we both have orders to follow, which means we have to work together. For the good of the new Belter state, ke?

We never get a similar scene or confrontation between Jon and Sansa. Sansa hides information about her Vale army from Jon so that she could get the credit of the victory, leading to the needless deaths of thousands. And Jon just shrugs it off with a kiss on the forehead. Imagine if we got a game of thrones in Winterfell between Jon and Sansa - like we got between Tyrion and Cersei in KL? Where both characters know what the other is trying to do and try to outwit each other? But D&D never really committed to what they wanted Sansa to be on the show and their Jon was written as a gullible fool and so we got scenes that made no sense.

Remember when Sansa undermined Jon in front of the other houses and later Arya observes that Sansa was trying to get the Lords on her side rather than Jon’s. Again, the show hesitates to commit to what Sansa is doing. Jon is made out to be the bad guy for requesting that Sansa not undermine him and Arya comes off as being the mean sister for pointing out that Sansa is not supporting her brother.

Meanwhile, on The Expanse, we clearly see what Ashford is doing and so can Drummer.

Sansa wants to punish the children of the traitors. Jon wants to pardon them and give them back their lands. Drummer wants to throw the drug dealers out of the airlock. Ashford disagrees. He asks for a private word with Drummer and orders their audience to step back - he then persuades Drummer to change her mind but it’s clear to the people watching that he made the decision. Both the audience and Drummer can see that Ashford is indeed undermining Drummer here, but he’s more sly about it.

They have several such arguments. Ashford questions Drummer’s decisions within hearing of their men. Ashford wants them to hear his disagreements.

Ashford: Oh, and it's just too bad we don't have our chief engineer to build us some probes.

Drummer: You have something to say?

Ashford: Yeah, I said it. We needed Nagata here, and you let her go.

Drummer: This isn't a slave ship.

Ashford: No, it's a warship. The Belt's first and only.

Drummer: And I'm its captain.

Ashford: Yeah. Yeah, you are.

Drummer: We have a few autonomous farm drones with chemical samplers for soil. We can convert those into probes. A captain must know their ship.  Hmm?

Later one of those men approaches Ashford. He trash talks Drummer to Ashford and insinuates that Ashford should take over.

Diego: Bossmang...

Ashford: Yeah, what's up? What's the problem, Harari?

Diego: I na like da ting Drummer say to you... or how she say it.

Ashford: Uh... a captain can run their ship however they choose to.

Diego: Captain should be you.

Ashford: Tread carefully, good my boy.

Diego: You been bossmang from da time before me or half the Beltalowda on this ship was born.

Ashford: Yeah, that's true. I have. And I've drunk real Earth whiskey out of a UN Admiral's mug and then scuttled her ship. I flew dark past a Martian battle group, and they never even knew I was there. And I've seen friends breathe the vacuum and watched my only child burn. So when I tell you to tread carefully, you would do well to stop talking.

This scene parallels the Northern lords saying that they should have made Sansa queen instead of Jon. Sansa listens to their complaints and then says that Jon is their king and they can only do what he says. We see Arya observing this and later confronts Sansa in a scene where Arya comes off as being unnecessarily harsh and wrong. I am not going back and watching this trash, but if I recall, Arya actually gets angry at Sansa’s fashion choices here! Like why? What does that have to do with anything? What does that have to do with Sansa trying to win favor from the Northern lords while not supporting Jon’s decisions as king? Again, the show never commits to exploring Sansa’s decisions here.

But Drummer knows what Ashford is doing. She’s clever.

Ashford: I understand why you let Nagata go. If I had a chief engineer who didn't want to be here, I wouldn't want them around, either. But she was your friend.

Drummer: She is my friend.

Ashford: No, I always treated my friends harder... harsher, to show the crew I wasn't playing favorites... even if I was.

Drummer: You just can't stop giving me advice, can you?

Ashford: I'm trying to help you.

Drummer: Yet, still you call me out in front of the crew.

Ashford: Yeah, I could've done that better.

Drummer: You did what you meant. You put it in everyone's head. And after I left, I bet you were all praise for me, yeah? How important it is to respect the captain and so on. That way, when the turn come and you take over, they all know it was because you had to. No choice.

Ashford: Oh, we have a problem. And we need to work it out.

Drummer: Or else what?

Oh, how I wish we got this sort of confrontation, conversation, a similar scene between Jon and Sansa after he got back to Winterfell.

And the beautiful thing about Drummer and Ashford is that we can actually see where they are both coming from. They are both looking out for their people, they both want to do right by the belt. The older, more experienced Ashford thinks he should be in charge and knows better than the young whippersnapper Drummer. Smart Drummer is actually capable of being a good leader and can see through what Ashford is trying to do. They end up helping each other. And in the end, Drummer turns out to be right, Ashford acknowledges this and in the next season they work together.

In GOT however, we are just supposed to accept that Sansa is right, despite Jon making the right decisions to tackle the problems facing them. Sansa’s actions are never challenged by anyone. Jon just floats around like a gullible fool and Arya’s real issues with Sansa in season 7 are never again mentioned. And because there is no resolution to the conflicts and drama, in season 8 we get Arya suddenly and inexplicably thinking that Sansa is the smartest ever, Jon continuing to trust the person who lied to him and undermined him and Sansa continues to win despite being wrong about everything.

Drummer and Ashford are secondary characters in The Expanse and yet their character dynamics, the conflict, the resolution is all so well written and played out. Meanwhile, Jon, Sansa, Arya and Bran are all main characters and Littlefinger is a main antagonist and yet that whole story in seasons 6 and 7 was so badly written and nonsensical that it’s absolute trash. Ultimately Benioff and Weiss did not know what they wanted Sansa to be - they wrote her one way, did not want to commit to the character they wrote, and wanted the other characters (and audience) to see her another way.

It’s clear that the writers and showrunners of The Expanse are invested in their characters and good storytelling. And that’s why it’s a far more enjoyable and entertaining show with likeable characters than GOT.

[tessatechaitea]

Justice League #1 (1987)

This is actually a more impressive line-up than I remember.

I'm pretty sure this line-up is a huge scam. I don't remember Doctor Fate interacting too much with this group and I think Shazam bows out fairly quickly. Batman probably does that thing where he acts like he's leader (even if Martian Manhunter actually is) and only helps out every sixth mission. So at that point, the line-up is already decreasing in strength and intimidation factor quickly. Adding Fire, Ice, and Booster Gold later won't really improve the team much. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My impressions from this initial cover were "Wow! Pretty interesting team!" and "What asshole fucking decided on the shit stencil font for the title?" Sorry, I cuss a lot when I'm writing on the Internet and trying to seem like a bad-ass. The issue begins with Guy Gardner calling the other Green Lanterns jerks and suggesting, to himself, that he should be the Commander-in-Chief of the new Justice League. Some people would read this first page and think, "What an arrogant fucking asshole." But my stomach got all queasy and I giggled a little bit and I muttered quietly under my breath, "I love him."

I'm not saying it isn't composed of some truly ridiculous aspects but Guy still has the best costume in the DC Universe.

I don't love everything about Guy Gardner because most writers at the time didn't truly understand him. They made him a jerk that nobody would like because they were too cold-hearted to see the brain damaged cool guy that he really was. Guy Gardner often needed to be written by somebody who loved the character; it would have done him a world of good. He could still have been that abrasive jerk. But written deftly, those who actually cared to take the time would see his true self. Sure, that would also be an abrasive jerk! But a little bit more likable!

Stallone was pretty sensitive in a few scenes in Rocky IV!

Black Canary is second to arrive, after which Mister Miracle and Oberon show up. I never quite understood how Oberon fit into the Justice League. Wasn't he like an agent or a manager? Did Batman and Martian Manhunter need Oberon to sign off on every mission or else Scott Free would have to remain behind? I bet he was included just so Giffen and DeMatteis could make dwarf jokes.

Why would Guy choose Sneezy?! Oberon's breathing has been impeccable since he arrived!

Normally after some kind of cynical prediction about the comic book that immediately is proved true, I'd write, "Grandmaster Comic Book Reader!" But it doesn't feel right to say it in this case. I mean, Oberon is present for four panels before he becomes the butt of a joke based on his diminutive nature. And by Guy Gardner, no less! Is this why I loved him so much at sixteen?! What a terrible and typical sixteen year old white heterosexual male I was! Black Canary (whose costume I'm just now noticing is really fucking weird) responds to Guy's awful behavior by saying, "Dozens of GLs around and we get 'Rambo' with a ring!" That's unfair to Rambo! I'm also unsure who in this story (including the writers of this story) have actually seen First Blood. Gardner is more like the authority mad Sheriff Teasle than the sensitive green beret John Rambo! Rambo should be admired as a hero, battling back against corrupt cops who think they have the right to use as much force as they want for any stupid fucking reason! It's possible they were talking about the Rambo from the second film who gets to kill more than one person because the people he's killing are Russians and Vietnamese. He does get a bit murder crazy in the second film. Or maybe they're talking about Rambo from the third film which wasn't actually out yet so I don't have to read up on it. Next to arrive are Captain Marvel, Blue Beetle, and Martian Manhunter. Martian Manhunter proves to be a buzzkill, reminding everybody how the old series ended in total death and disaster.

His view of the media is pretty spot on though.

J'onn calls up the files of Steel, Gypsy, Vixen, and Vibe before purging them completely from the Justice League computer. That's probably a good idea, like deleting old joke tweets on Twitter that were a bit racist and also boring. Meanwhile Maxwell Lord IV watches from a distance, doing that Ozymandias thing where you watch dozens of televisions at once. I think it proves you're a genius whose done the research and contemplated all sides of an issue before making up your totally rational and logical mind about any issue. As opposed to us losers who simply use compassion and empathy to almost immediately understand the correct and most ethical path to take. Maxwell Lord IV watches all of this television and decides the correct course to take is to leave the "America" off of the Justice League of America this time. Oh, and also the "of".

Maybe this is why I liked Guy so much: because he knew the saying was "you've got another think coming." Look, I'm going to be desperately finding good reasons to have liked Guy Gardner so much when Giffen and DeMatteis are this determined to make him a huge and unlikable jerk.

Look, I was sixteen! Hardly the best time in a young man's life for qualities like compassion and empathy and fashion sense and hair styles! I'm also fairly certain it wasn't this comic book that made me like him so much. I'm pretty sure he gets knocked out by Batman with one punch before the year is over and I remember loving that scene. So I probably despised him like a good reader of Justice League was supposed to do. Hopefully he'll have some character moments during this series that will show why I wound up liking him so much as a character. Right now, he's just a complete and utter asshole. The five panels following the one I just scanned consist of Guy once again calling Oberon "Sneezy" and then suggesting Black Canary is going to want to fuck him soon enough. Martian Manhunter tries to break it up and just winds up part of the chaos.

Okay, I'm starting to get why I might have liked him at sixteen, even after the first few pages. To a sixteen year old white male, mocking Martian Manhunter with a "Ho-ho-ho" trumps ableism, sexism, and, with this attack on J'onn for his inherent physical Martianness, almost certainly racism as well.

Guy continues to play the role of Squeaky Wheel for another page or two. I suppose if you want more on-panel time than the other heroes, you've got to be a raging asshole. I can't say I'm not entertained by it!

Captain Marvel earns a little of my love with this line as well. No shame in drinking warm milk at night!

This is only nine pages into the first issue and Guy has completely derailed the formation of the new Justice League. Was this blasphemy to previous fans of the Justice League where the team may have had some minor squabbles about various things and Batman would quit every six issues but mostly they didn't break out into brawls whenever they got together? Or were internal struggles and arguments a regular plot point? I have no idea because the only Justice League comics I read previous to this title were the terrible months where everything was breaking down and then Steel betrayed them and Vibe was killed off and Martian Manhunter felt like a huge failure. Although was Aquaman leading the team at the time? I dislike Aquaman so much, I'm just going to believe he was leading the team and that's why everything completely fell apart. He sucks. Once per day, I think about that lousy meme trying to prove Aquaman wasn't useless by using the image from New 52 Justice League where he controls a bunch of great whites to breach and kill a bunch of parademons and I hate everybody who actually thought that was a cool moment. Batman and Doctor Fate arrive in the middle of the Justice League brawl (which even Martian Manhunter, the only adult in the room, is taken part in) and shuts shit down The Batman way.

I guess heroes are also a cowardly lot.

Meanwhile, Doctor Light winds up being held hostage with the rest of the United Nations by some white terrorists. I felt I needed to say they were white because a lot of racist assholes can only envision terrorists one way. Also, I should always describe people as white when they're white since I don't want to be an accomplice to maintaining a world where we assume a person mentioned is white, male, and heterosexual unless they're described more fully. Doctor Light was given a Justice League emergency beeper by a mysterious figure some time previously. This isn't revealed but I just read Justice League Spectacular #1 so I know Maxwell Lord gave her the device so that she could alert the Justice League when the United Nations was taken hostage by terrorists that Maxwell Lord IV paid. It's all about getting some early press! There's an advert for the new Flash which I'm surprised I didn't pick up since the advert shows him having some kind of accident in a sperm bank.

Ew Flash is right!

The Justice League head over to stop the terrorist attack. At some point, Doctor Fate disappears to go do something else and I think he never comes back? Is that why I barely remember him as a part of this league? Was he just there to look cool on the cover and fool all the lovers of DC magic users? The League storms the UN, murdering several terrorists.

Look. Manhunter either phased their heads into the solid ceiling or he smashed their skulls straight through the roof. Either way, I don't see a high percentage chance of their survival.

The Justice League capture all the terrorists and then Batman has the building evacuated, leaving just the leader of the terrorists alone in the United Nations building threatening to kill himself so that the bomb attached to his heart would detonate and kill them all. He does kill himself but the bomb doesn't detonate. And the thing is, Batman realized during the mission that the bomb was almost certainly a bluff. So he left the man alone to kill himself. Later we discover the man had a history of mental illness. So this, to Batman, is justice? Batman almost certainly realized the man was being manipulated and that he'd definitely kill himself to blow the bomb and Batman let the man do it. Batman is a fucking monster. After the event, the media points out that the terrorists were mostly composed of 60s radical groups like the Weathermen and the Black Panthers. Which is odd because there wasn't one black terrorist in the bunch. The issue ends with Max Lord talking to himself and admitting to being the one who staged the terrorist attack. He also knew the leader was unstable enough to kill himself for the cause and he sent him in with a bomb that definitely wouldn't blow. So he's a fucking monster as well. And Martian Manhunter is a monster, not because he's a weirdo martian, but because he basically popped the heads on a few of the terrorists. No way will I believe those guys hanging from the ceiling by their necks survived! All in all, Guy Gardner is starting to look like a rational member of this group! Justice League #1 Rating: B+. A better than average start to the new Justice League, building some intrigue and conflict right from the start. Who is Max Lord? What are his plans for the Justice League? Why is he acting like it's his group? Will Doctor Fate ever return? Will Oberon poison Guy Gardner? Will Black Canary and Doctor Light become best friends because they're the only women in the League? Will Guy Gardner and Batman ever come to blows? I can answer that! They will not! They'll just come to blow. One punch by Batman. And that one punch causes some severe psychological trauma to Gardner and nobody thinks he should get medical help simply because he starts acting nicer. They're all fucking monsters!

[mollysfoundfamily]

Number one: The medieval au looks AWESOME!!!. And second, can we get a few Hc about this au?

Ramsey refused to do his job as merry bard and sing of their adventures so Zora took it upon herself to do so “🎶 and then the noble sir Percy stoped on her quest to let her horse PPPPEEEEEEEEE! And then she started glaring at mmmmeeeeee!!!🎶” 

Percy’s not technically not supposed to really be a knight her real title is Ugh...”Lady in waiting” and she kinda maybe tricked them into thinking she was a boy so the would train her.... Once Ramsey and Zora found out perfect Percy broke that big of a rule and pulled something that sneaky they never let her live it down

Cars haven’t  been invented yet so CarCrash’s Viking name is DonkeyCrash.... his soul is ridden with the guilt of so many dead donkeys

Gio and the other Viking blasters have never actually been on the ocean before they just ride around in a boat on wheels 

medieval Healthcare is terrible and mera has been mistaken for a corpse and brought to the death cart several times... who ever brought her is usually the one who ends up there instead 

Some idiot also started going around with a freaking GLASS SHOE And tried to make every girl he met wear it including Mera... it went about as well as you thought 

Indus is actually pretty skilled as a home doctor from taking care of mera he bandages her up himself so she does have to go threw a crazy blood letting process and always kisses her booboos better for extra luck! 

Molly actually once saved sylvie form getting burned at the stake at a crazy witch trial. she dumbed down the flames so they wouldn’t hurt him and got him untied with Gio and the boys fought everyone off... it was the single kindest things anyone had ever done for him 

Indus and Mera are actually already married here because marriage was basically the same thing as a permanent work for hire contract back then... it’s not like she actually liked him or anything... *she said as she flusteredly blushing* 

Gio is all powerful because soup is all anyone eats here!!!! Plus now he has badass war paint and tattoos and is getting way more jacked now!!! But most of all HE HAS A CLUB!!!!! WITH A SWORD TIED TO IT!!!!!! Being a Viking Captain is freaking awesome!! 

Howie is a blacksmith and more of a king to the common people than the real one is. him and his Worker bees have been planning to over throw The fool King Martian for years 

They’re keeps Princess Molly though she’s sweet and a good worker 

Percy and Howie are still rival frenemies but now it’s because Percy believes the monarchy can still work and Howie believes it has to go entirely but they both believe in the people’s justice

Molly in typical princess fashion has made friends with a group of friendly forest animals!! particularly a group of grizzly bears!! They help her with her chores sing with her And try to maul anyone who comes near her!!  Phoenica and trixie are also princesses too; feenie is the daughter of a dignified French high noble and trixie is the daughter of a ruthless barbarian lord and they’re both BFFs!! 

(And now some fun facts!!)  Knights used to crewcut their hair in the back leaving only the bangs and Percy is no exception it’s actually kind of cute on her!  Many renaissance sculptures and artists used to scam people by selling them fake works of art they said were actually a Greek originals in fact a lot of artists where hired by the people they scammed because they where so good at making the fakes look authentic Ramsey is literally the best at doing this and thus he is this universe’s Michelangelo

[nureyevv]

This job was supposed to be easy. That’s why Buddy had put him out in the field in the first place, right? He wasn’t as experienced as Jet in these things, but they’d said it’d be good practice for when the real work began. They just needed some cushion creds-- it was the perfect opportunity to acclimate him to the life of crime.

It was the exact sort of thing Juno would have normally refused to take part in. He wouldn't steal just to steal, certainly not from innocent people, but it just so happened their mark today was a double decker asshole. The Diamond Dame Casino, just off Saturn, was notorious for attracting the worst kind of people. Juno had never been fond of casinos anyway. He couldn't understand how someone could make a living off of other people’s addictions and still sleep soundly at night. The Diamond Dame was a whole different brand of nasty, though. It was a known location among criminals to make dirty deals without risk of being caught, and at the head of it all was a man by the name of Dallas Olson. He’d inherited the business from his father and had been inadvertently running the place into the ground ever since.

See, the issue with raising a kid around some of the worst spenders this side of Venus was that, more often than not, they don’t shape up to be the best with money. Olson’s bank account said he was in debt to just about every person he’d ever met, and a man like Olson met a lot of dangerous people. Normally, a guy like that would be a thief’s jackpot-- no pun intended. The only issue was that, 90% of the time Olson didn’t even know when he would be making out checks. Most days he tried to put it off until someone pulled a knife on him and he was forced to find some creds then and there. No robber worth his name (or lack thereof) would take a job with that kind of uncertainty.

At least, that was what Nureyev-- or Glass-- had told Juno when he asked why Olson had yet to be robbed blind.

They would have passed Olson by, too, if it wasn’t for the tip Buddy got. It was incredibly vague; all it told them was that Olson was making a repayment today. They didn’t know who he was repaying, how much he owed, or when it would happen. Juno had almost deemed it a lost cause when Vespa had spoke up: “They’re just giving us money at this point, Bud.”

Apparently, when you had a spaceship with four master criminals, a hacker that couldn’t be beat, and an ex-detective, nothing was impossible.

So, they set the stage. Vespa, Rita, and Jet would stay on the ship. Jet would be at the wheel, waiting for one of two orders: get us the fuck out of here or open fire. Rita would handle the tech-- get them into The Diamond Dame’s security system. Vespa would be in charge of monitoring the live footage, watching out for possible threats and keeping the operation in line. Buddy and Pe-- Rex were out in the casino, stationed by each of the exits. When they got word of who it was they’d be robbing, they’d be the ones doing the dirty work.

That was where Juno came in. His role was simple enough: figure out who it was that was walking out with their paycheck.

At least, it sounded simple enough. Then he actually got to the casino, with all its flashing lights and chiming slot machines. Juno could hardly think straight as it was, and there were so many people, more than he’d ever imagined. Being observant, picking one oddity out of a crowd, that was supposed to be his whole thing. He had to at least be decent at it if he was able to make a living off it for all those years, and yet… he had a bad feeling about this.

He couldn’t focus, and if he couldn’t focus there was no way he’d be able to pull this off. Still, he couldn’t tell the rest of them why he was so distracted because his big distraction was one of them. Whatever name he called him, Peter Nureyev, Rex Glass, or tonight’s specialty, Orion Krum, he couldn’t push that man from his mind. They hadn’t talked since their first encounter in the martian desert, not really. Every time Juno tried to catch him alone, to explain or apologize, or something, Nureyev always slipped away in the way only he could. It was obvious he didn’t want anything to do with Juno.

Juno didn’t blame him for it either. He left, and Nureyev moved on, even if Juno couldn’t say the same for himself. Just watch the crowd, Steel.

From his spot at one of the slot machines he examined a few groups. There was one gaggle of wealthy looking women who were far too drunk to be there on official business. Juno crossed them off a mental suspect list. He caught sight of one suspicious looking man dressed in a particularly showy black gown and for a moment he thought he might be onto something.

A moment later another man arrived in a similar sneaking fashion and Juno was right back to square one. The only thing those two were guilty of was an affair. His eyes continued to trace the crowds until he caught sight of that face again.

Stars, that face.

Peter didn’t look like himself tonight. His usual warm colors had been replaced with a deep blue, suit, speckled with silver like the night sky. He wore none of his signature makeup or jewelry, but his expression said he didn’t need it when he had a face like that. He looked like the kind of man that, if Juno had spotted him back on Mars, he would have avoided at all costs: arrogant, rich, and cold.

And, simultaneously, he looked like an undercover thief Juno really wanted to take back to his room after all of this was through.

He shook the thought from his mind almost as soon as it entered. He needed to move. Maybe a new vantage point would show him something he couldn’t see from here, or at least block out someone he very much could--

As he stood up from his machine he only narrowly avoided walking straight into someone. Juno stumbled backwards a few steps and was just about to apologize when he saw the man in front of him. He recognized that blonde hair and pointed nose from Vespa’s lectures. Dallas Olson.

He was young, Juno might have even said handsome if he didn’t dim in comparison to another nearby face. “Apologies, madame,” he said in a thick accent Juno couldn’t quite place, “I didn't mean to startle you.”

Juno inhaled deeply and tried to remember who he was. Tonight, his name was Renee Bruner, a lady with too much free time and enough creds on hand to find plenty of ways to entertain himself. The dress Buddy had provided him made him look the part, long and tight fit, made of a brilliant magenta silk, but he still had to sound like Renee, too.

“No harm done,” he said with a breezy, somewhat bored smile. “You know how it is after you’ve had a few.”

Olson nodded in agreement and extended a hand out to him. Internally, Juno’s stomach dropped. He’d hoped this encounter would be short and sweet. “It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. My names Dallas Olson. I’m the owner of this establishment.”

Juno took his hand and shook it. “Renee. It’s quite the place you got here.”

“Aw, you’re too kind,” he replied with fake humility. “This may seem a bit odd, but I was wondering if you might do me a favor?”

Juno felt the hair on his arms prickle. “I suppose it depends on the request.”

Olson smiled gingerly. “But of course,” he answered with a slick kind of charm Juno only liked on one man. “My hope was that, if you agreed, you could introduce me to that gentleman behind you.”

Juno didn’t need to look to see who Olson was gesturing at. He looked anyway. Sure enough, Nureyev stood there, pretending to be properly entertained. The tenseness in his jaw said he knew he was being watched.

Juno didn’t know how Olson had managed to put together that they knew each other. They’d been so careful, coming in separate entrances and staying away from one another. Had they received bad intel? Was Olson on to them? Should they call a quits now--

“You… do know one another, yes?” asked Olson, and Juno was relieved to hear the doubt in his voice. So he didn’t know anything for sure. They could work with that. “I simply assumed with the way you have been looking at him that you were acquainted. I like to associate myself with all my new guests, and I had not seen your faces before…”

Dammit, he chided himself. He’d given himself away. If he’d been obvious enough that Olson had spotted him then he was sure Nureyev already knew too. Couldn’t he go two seconds without making a fool of himself?

Something about this situation definitely stunk. Olson wanted to talk to them for a reason, and Juno knew it wasn’t just good business practice. He was nervous, that much Juno could tell by the perspiration in their handshake, but he didn’t know why. At least, not yet.

It was time to change his approach. It’d be more suspicious to flat out deny knowing Peter now, and besides, trying to find their mark without a lead wasn’t going anywhere.

“No, no, you’re right. That’s my husband,” he said and braced himself.

“Steel,” he heard Vespa’s voice in his ear, “this is not the plan.”

Near by, Nureyev had heard the exact same conversation. He would just have to make it part of the plan.

Juno smiled and ignored her, keeping his attention on Olson. “I’ll bring you over now, just let me grab my bag.”

“Of course,” nodded Olson.

Juno moved to the side of the machine he’d been sitting at and grabbed a purple purse. Quiet enough Olson wouldn’t hear it, Juno muttered, “Just play along, alright?”

Gesturing at Olson to follow, Juno led him over to Nureyev as Vespa complained. If Peter was caught off guard he didn’t show it. Juno knew this was a role he could play. It was familiar for both of them, and a bit nostalgic. The only thing Juno had severely underestimated was how much it would hurt to pretend to be his again.

“Hello, love,” said Juno a bit awkwardly. He was learning he really hated undercover work. “I want to introduce you to the owner, Mr. Olson.”

Peter, unlike Juno, never let his disguise falter. It amazed Juno, but then again, maybe that was just what twenty years of practice looked like. His eyes were still ice cold, but he quickly adapted to the new information. He slid an arm around Juno’s waist and pulled him close, eyes still glued to Olson. It was protective but not loving. In other words, it was completely in character.

Juno hoped he didn’t notice how he shivered at his touch and seemed to flourish in the safety of Nureyev’s torso. It still felt so natural.

“Orion Krum. I hope my wife hasn’t caused too much trouble,” said Nureyev.

For a reason Juno couldn’t understand, Olson seemed to get more pale the longer he looked at them. “Not at all!” he said with unconvincing enthusiasm, “I had asked him to introduce us. I must say, though, he seems much happier now that he’s with you. His expression earlier was quite distressed.”

What was his game? If he didn’t know who they were, why was he so invested in them? Juno was trying to put the pieces together. They were missing something but he didn’t know what. Olson was scared, but of what? The answer tugged at the back of his mind and Juno tried to pull it free. He almost had it when Nureyev spoke and broke his concentration.

For the first time in the night, Peter, or rather Orion, was looking at him. There was something in his eyes, though, something that hadn’t been there earlier and made Juno’s heart do a somersault. There was something coy about that look that wasn’t like the character he was playing tonight. Peter Nureyev was peaking through. “Is that true? Were you feeling left out?” Then, noticing his error he added a cool: “then don’t wander off next time.”

That smugness… It felt like being teased by the Peter who loved him, all those months ago. Juno was caught off guard. “I, uh, Nur--”

Before he could say something that couldn’t be unsaid, Peter cut him off. Before Juno knew it Peter’s lips were on his and anything he was planning to say was forgotten. It was effective, that’s for sure. A one hit KO that was over almost as soon as it began.

Peter pulled away. It was barely a peck on the lips, just enough to fluster Juno while not being too uncalled for. Afterwards he turned his attention back to their new friend while Juno was left properly flustered. “Well then. We’ve met, my wife has been returned. Now we’ll be on our way, unless you had some further plan for my time.”

The prickly facade was back. Peter Nureyev had been shoved back inside, and while Juno had much preferred it to the emotionless creature he was imitating now, Olson looked… chipper. The color was back in his face and his smile was unsettling to say the least. It looked like they’d just fallen into whatever trap Olson had set, but Juno didn’t know how.

Something was about to go very wrong. He turned to Peter and tried to get a warning out before it was too late. “This isn’t right, we have to--”

Suddenly, Juno was ripped away and Peter’s comforting presence was gone. In its place was blaster and Olson’s iron grip.

Oh, thought Juno. This explains a lot.

One arm was up against his throat, keeping him from escaping. The barrel of the blaster was digging into his skull, and he wasn’t planning on risking his brains in a struggle. He was facing Nureyev, whose face Juno couldn’t read: shock, anger, fear? Or maybe nothing at all.

“Juno!” said Vespa’s stern voice in his head.

“Verona,” called Olson at someone Juno couldn’t quite see. “This kind man here will be providing you your payment.”

Nureyev raised an eyebrow in his direction. “And why would I do that?”

The answer was obvious enough, though, at least to Juno. Olson had finally dug himself into a hole he couldn’t climb back out of, but he wasn’t about to give in. He had plenty of unknowing customers with the kind of spending money he needed. Olson was smart enough to find an out and desperate enough to risk it all.

All he had to do was find an unsuspecting soul stupid enough to fall into his trap with something more than money to lose. Leverage. He’d almost done it, too, but their was one big problem. The most expensive thing he or Nureyev had on them was the clothes on their backs. No wonder Juno couldn’t figure out who had the check-- there wasn’t a check to begin with.

“Well, if you’d like to keep your wife’s brain in-tact, I would highly recommend giving Ms. Verona whatever she asks,” drawled Olson. Juno really hoped Peter was as concerned with his safety as Olson thought. Around them, heads turned. A few people looked nervous at the sight of the scene before them, but most just turned a blind eye. Olson let a lot of dirty business slip by unnoticed. It wasn’t difficult to return the favor.

“What makes you think I care about all that?” asked Nureyev with that signature nonchalance. He was playing some kind of angle. That didn’t make it sting any less.

Verona shot Olson a look that said he was supposed to have this under control. Panic flashed over his features but he was quick to compose himself. It seemed like the bullet in Juno’s head wouldn’t be the only shot fired if this deal fell through.

“Don’t play games. It's the money or his life,” growled Olson at Nureyev.

“Glass, Juno,” ordered Vespa, “get out of there!”

Juno thought that was easier said than done when there was a gun to your head. They were at a disadvantage-- even if they might have been able to take Olson and Verona in a fight, any sudden movements and he might end up with a hole in his head. They could try to stall until Buddy arrived, but Juno had no clue where she was or if she’d be able to do anything before Olson lost his patience. They had to act alone.

He looked to Nureyev, equal parts indignant and afraid. To Juno, it was still obvious he was in character. That’s right, he thought, we still have the element of surprise.

Juno didn’t know what his plan was, but he knew Nureyev had one. Nureyev always had a plan. So, without thinking it through, he played along.

“Orion,” he said, voice small, “I’m sorry I wandered off before I won’t do it again-- just, just get me out of here. Please. Just give them what they want.

Nureyev sighed. “Fine. What do you want.”

Verona spoke up now. “Ten thousands creds.”

“You’d have to be a fool to carry that kind of money on you!” Peter protested.

“Then give me the passcode to you fucking bank account, then,” Verona snapped back. She was getting irritated, though not entirely at Nureyev. It seemed she was under the impression Olson had a more reliable way of paying her back.

Peter caught his eyes. Did you see that, they seemed to ask, and of course Juno did. The private eye in him was already putting two and two together. She was the weak link. She was their escape route. “Hurry up, Krum,” said Olson through gritted teeth.

Peter chewed his lip. “I will, but there is a… slight complication.”

“What? What could possibly be the problem now?” demanded Verona.

“I’m a busy man-- I don’t have time to track all my expenses and banking, that’s what having a secretary is for.”

“And?”

Peter looked at her like it was obvious. “I don’t know my passcode.”

Juno nearly laughed. Their plan was to annoy Verona into snapping, and Peter was damn good at it. The mirth was, unfortunately, short lived.

Verona shook with rage. Juno thought it was entirely possible she might just combust then and there, and for a moment Juno was terrified they’d miscalculated. He couldn’t help but fear that, when she lashed out, she’d go straight for Nureyev’s throat.

The idea of it was enough to make him feel like he was going to be ill.

And then Verona spun on Olson. “Dammit, Olson, you said you had the money and you’re gonna get it for me. No more games.”

“I will, just wait, please, a few moments more,” sputtered Olson. “They have the creds we just have to--”

“We?” She cut in. “I don’t have to do anything, understand? You owe me. I said I was done playing. You either have what you owe me or you don’t. So what’s the answer?”

On cue, Juno heard the distinct click of a blaster’s safety being turned off, and he got the impression it wasn’t set to stun. A large man stood behind Olson in all black, eyes fixed on Verona. One word from her and his target would be dead.

This was their chance. In his fear, Olson’s grip loosened and his aim wavered. Juno took the moment to slip away, over to Nureyev. The two of them had been almost completely forgotten.

Nureyev’s hands were on his shoulders, sturdy and strong. Juno might have even thought protective if he didn’t know better. The taller man tried to lead him away from all of this so they could make their escape. They could disappear before anyone even noticed they were gone, but…

“Drop the gun, Olson,” instructed Verona. The blonde man whimpered, reserved to his fate, and tossed it at the floor where it clattered at their feet. At Juno’s feet.

No one was supposed to die here. Not even double decker assholes.

“Juno,” Nureyev said at his side, tugging at him now. “We need to go before people start shooting--”

Juno was moving before he could even think of the consequences. He dove for the blaster and shifted the dial to stun. Around him he heard voices, Verona yelling orders, Vespa shouting in his ear, Peter, the real Peter’s, fearful “Wait--.” He blocked it all out.

They were all close to him, he should have been able to hit them, but without the THEIA he was never one hundred percent sure. Three shots, just three shots.

Bang. The first beam went straight into the armed man’s chest. He crumpled to the floor.

Bang. The second shot was for Verona, and he only barely hit the mark. Just in time, too. By the way her hand had gone for her pocket she’d been looking to grab a blaster of her own. He made contact with her shoulder, and though she tried to stay conscious she followed her minion to ground.

Juno took a breath before firing for the third and last time. Olson gaped at him. “Wh--”

Bang. He didn't get to finish before Juno blasted him in the gut.

People were starting to panic now. Threats were one thing, but actually shooting to host was another. Before the chaos could close in, Nureyev grabbed his hand and they were running.

They busted through the casino doors, the cool night air hitting them like pool water on a summer day. “Your aim is getting quite good, detective.”

Juno glanced up at Peter and was met with a smile. A genuine one, at that. “Ah, well,” he answered, sheepishly. He hoped the darkness would hide his blush.

“Yea, he’s a fuckin’ natural,” growled Vespa over their earpiece. “It’d be awful nice if he was as skilled at following directions.

“Oh, don’t be honorary,” chided Nureyev. How was it that he could keep up this pace and not be at least a bit winded. “This job would have failed no matter what Juno did. No reason to place blame.”

“But Glass, I’d hardly call it a failure.” The voice speaking them now belonged to Buddy. Juno had almost forgotten she’d been in the casino all together.

“That so?” he asked between strained breaths. “Where did you go during all that? I nearly died!”

“Spare me the dramatics, Juno, you two had it completely under control. I figured if we weren’t going to get our creds from Olson I might as well tamper with the machines a bit. You wouldn’t believe what kind of money people put in those things.”

At his side, Nureyev’s grin widened at the thought of their loot. “Very clever, as always, Ms. Aurinko. I believe I see you now. You’ll have to show us what you picked up when we get there.”

Sure enough, they’d crested a hill and below, at the very bottom of the incline, was the ship. It was only then that Nureyev slowed his pace.

He met Juno’s eyes, lifted a hand to his ear, and shut off his communication device. Juno didn’t know why, exactly, but he repeated the motion anyway.

Nureyev seemed to blend into the night, his skin the only glowing contrast to the deep navy around them. He looked good, but then again, he always looked good.

There was a momentary silence between them, then: “You know, I’d like to believe you meant what you said back there.”

Juno searched his face for hints but found none. He had said a lot of things in the casino, most of them in the hopes of not getting killed. He didn’t have the slightest idea which one Peter was referencing now.

“I’m… not sure I follow.”

The dark haired man nodded, as if he’d expected that. “You said you wouldn’t wander off again, Juno. I hope that’s the truth this time. I hate to admit it, but each time I lose you I find it a bit more difficult to move on.”

The smile was still present on Peter’s face, but it was distant and sad. His gaze was somewhere else entirely. The ice from the evening’s alias had melted away and Juno was left with someone he recognized. Someone he loved.

“Yea… Yea I think I know how you feel,” answered Juno, “but, if it means anything, I think it is. True, I mean. At least, I want it to be.”

They were close now, and there were still a million unsaid things between them. Peter only said one of them, though.

“I suppose I’ll just have to trust you, then.”

And really, Juno couldn’t have imagined anything better than that.

[renaroo]

17, JLI

A/N: I literally squealed with delight, it would’ve been embarrassing if I was embarrassed by my passionate love for these losers lol

Best Boy

She has a childish instinct to try.

That, more than anything, is what Ice thinks is her ultimate downfall. Ice has allowed many things to happen to her, happen to the League, all in the name of making solid attempts toward something bigger and better. In this childish hope and dream that when all things are equalized, she can push their rather infamous luck toward being something greater than it used to be.

And Ice really wants this to work. She wants it to work more than she wants the recent photoshoot. She wants it to work more than she wanted her date with Guy to work out. She wants it to work more than she wants to see what Booster and Beetle have planned when the reruns of Next Generation hit too many same-old notes.

Most of all, Ice wants to be able to keep him in her room, too. If Martian Manhunter allows it.

***

It starts as a team-up with Green Lantern ironically.

No, not that Green Lantern. And not him either. And she’s never met that one.

She doesn’t say anything about it when she initially leaves the embassy with him because Guy is always strange about any of them hanging out with other Green Lanterns. It’s rather cute in Ice’s opinion — he likes being their one and only Green Lantern.

But this Green Lantern, the first first one, reminds Ice of her grandfather in some ways, he mentions that he likes her advertisement pictures and that he has a daughter of his own in the industry. So how can Ice not help him out with a mystery involving the fashion industry?

When Fire gets back from her European shoot, she’s going to be so jealous that Ice got to be both a superhero and supermodel in one single adventure.

It doesn’t take that much detective work — nothing to call Elongated Man or Batman about — but at least part of that is because of their help.

Ice, being from another country, has never heard of having a super pet before this adventure.

His codename is Wonder Dog and his civilian name is Streak.

He is the best boy in the world and Ice, in fact, loves him.

Which makes it easy for her to answer Alan Scott’s last-minute request to provide supervision for his furry partner while he goes on a business trip.

***

She goes to Blue Beetle first because, if anything, she figures Blue Beetle has the most experience trying to cover up things from the rest of the League.

He’s sitting cross-legged on the ground, arms folded to his chest, starring intently at the short, furry corgi like it owes him money.

Streak licks Blue Beetle.

“Yeah, I’m a cat person,” Blue Beetle says.

Ice decides immediately that Blue Beetle is no longer someone that should ever be trusted.

Aghast, she pulls Streak into her arms and twists away from Blue Beetle.

“Do you know how many artificial potted plants that thing is going to pee on in this building?” Blue Beetle asks. “At least ten! That’s ten spots of urine stinking up the embassy alongside whatever smells are coming out of Guy’s room.”

“Wonder Dog would never!” Ice gasps. “He’s a… he’s a good boy!”

Blue Beetle holds up his hands and pulls a face. “Hey, it’s your funeral when J’onn finds out.”

“If you tell him, I’m going to tell him about the diet Chacos!” she hisses at him.

Immediately, Beetle puts a hand to his heart. “You wouldn’t!”

“I will!” She promises. “Anything for Streak.”

She receives a lick on her cheek and she knows, at that moment, she will die for this dog if she must.

***

When Guy scoops up Streak and cradles him like a baby, Ice feels her heart melt. He even rubs the good boy’s stomach and nuzzles nose to nose with the Wonder Dog.

Beyond pleased, Ice practically hugs herself and looks at Guy.

“I always knew you were good, Guy,” she informs him happily. “And look at his little face, Streak agrees! And is happy!”

“Sure he is!” Guy says back, full of bluster. “I grew up with dogs. My sister and I always took care of them, couldn’t count on the ol’ man to. Just as well, huh, li’l guy?”

No matter what others say about Guy, no matter what Ice even knows about Guy, she has always seen the goodness there beneath the surface. She feels so validated and warmed to see the evidence of it so clearly on display before her now.

“Will you help me keep him in the embassy until Alan gets back?” she asks sweetly.

Guy, immediately, stiffens and looks at her. “Alan? Who’s Alan? Are you seeing him? How tall is he? I bet I can fight him.”

Ice huffs, rolling her wrist at Guy’s antics. “You know Alan! Alan Scott. He went on a business trip and needed someone to watch after Streak.”

A strangely judgmental look grows over Guy’s face as he looks down at Streak. It hardens. “This is Alan Scott’s dog? The first — unsanctioned, mind you — Green Lantern who uses the Starheart instead of an Oa issued ring?”

Frowning, Ice tries to make sense of Guy’s serious tone and expression. Is this the more serious side of Guy she’s always known was there? The one that trains in the Green Lantern Corps and acts as an officer of the peace in space? To be frank, she’s never been acquainted with him.

“I don’t know about much of any of that, but Alan seems very nice and noble and Streak helped us solve a mystery last week,” she explains.

For a moment, Guy nods and that seems to be the end of whatever interrogation is happening until Guy lets go of Streak. The dog yelps but is caught by a bright green construct that looks and is emerald green cuffs and chains around the dog’s paws and tail.

“Yeah, I’m taking this guy in for questioning,” Guy says.

Working on instinct, Ice lets out a shriek and blows Guy back with a gust of wind, freezing his ring hand until he drops the construct.

“You will do no such thing!” Ice declares, scooping up Streak and stomping out of the room.

“OW! Ice! TORA! It was a joke, are you kidding me!?”

Ice, though, is not kidding. And she doesn’t look back as she marches through the embassy to her next stop.

***

Fire is her best friend and, when she’s not blowing her top, she’s the closest thing Ice can find in the embassy to a voice of reason.

She’s back from a trip that went well, so Fire isn’t really near blowing her top. But she is skeptical and standoffish toward Streak.

Ice finds this rather insulting to her newfound canine loyalties.

“Is it going to be tearing up the furniture and,” Fire lets out an exasperated noise as she waves her hands, “my clothes or something?”

“He’s a Wonder Dog, Bea,” Ice admonishes. She lowers to her knees on the floor and pampers the corgi. “Of course he wouldn’t.”

Immediately, Streak hones in on the scrunchie around Ice’s wrist and begins timidly grazing his front teeth on it. Then, after a few misses, he grabs the scrunchie in his canines and pulls it off of Ice’s arm entirely. It’s one swift motion, very well-rehearsed.

There’s not enough willpower within Ice to resist the giggle that bubbles to the surface as a result.

Once again, Fire looks unimpressed. “You’re just going to let him tear that up?” she asks.

“It’s his scrunchie,” Ice answers.

“Oh, really? For how long?” Fire presses, bending over enough to get a full view of Streak viciously shaking his head, scrunchie in tow.

Using a babying tone, Ice wiggles her shoulder at Streak playfully. “For as long as his little heart has wanted it!”

Groaning, Fire pinches at the bridge between her eyes. “This isn’t going to end well, and considering I’m still paying off the fire damage I did to my room, I do not want to be roped into this,” she informs Ice. Like a traitor.

“Then you will not be his Auntie Bea,” Ice says, pulling Streak into her arms to the dog’s playful dismay.

“Somehow I feel like we’ll both live with that,” Fire rolls her eyes.

***

“Should it be in the kitchen?” Booster Gold asks over the loud blender.

“He,” Ice corrects.

“What?” Booster yells a little louder over the blender, though he doesn’t stop mixing his shake.

“He not it!” Ice repeats.

Post-workout Booster is sweaty and not wearing his signature goggles, so Ice gets to see his squinting confusion at her. At long last, he turns off the blender and then points at Streak who is patiently sitting right on top of Booster’s feet. “Dog. Should he be in the kitchen?”

“Where else would he eat?” Ice asks pointedly.

“Probably your room under the bed in hiding,” Booster jokes, pouring the contents of the blender into his awaiting glass. “Protein shake! You want some?”

“I am now vegetarian,” Ice says, staring seriously at Booster and completely ignoring the angry rumblings from her stomach.

Licking the sides of the blender for the drips of shake, Booster smirks at her. “Since when? You had bacon yesterday.”

“This morning,” she says, crossing her arms. “I will never harm an animal again! Wonder Dog has shown me the light!”

“Okay,” Booster snorts. “The carnivore inspired this?”

“I thought you were complaining the other day about twenty-first-century diets,” Ice argues. “You said it was weird that we ate so much meat.”

“It’s weird because of what it did — is doing,” Booster quickly corrects himself, “to the environment at the level you — we — make it. That was my point. And grease. You guys ruin things with overcooking. But we need protein. And it’s weird that you guys made fun of me saying meat-farming is going to go away, but you meet one admittedly adorable dog and you’re completely changing your lifestyle.”

“It’s just meat,” Ice says, hugging herself to muffle the growls.

“I meant your lifestyle of not being homeless since J’onn is definitely going to throw both your adorable butts out on the street when he finds out,” Booster jokes. He pats Streak on the head and Streak humors him by acting appreciative.

That’s okay because Ice knows that Streak knows to pee on Booster’s bed later.

***

Really, it’s only a matter of time before she opens her door and sees the Martian Manhunter on the other side.

Ice still dares to think it should have been longer, but then again J’onn is a telepath.

And also not a fool.

“May I come in?” he asks, red eyes already honed in on the corner of Ice’s bed where Streak is curled up napping.

Puffing out her bottom lip, Ice steps aside and watches as the martian crosses her room and rather quickly begins patting on the dog. She folds her arms self-consciously and watches.

“He’s a good boy,” she defends unsaid accusations.

“Perhaps,” Martian Manhunter agrees and looks back to Ice almost softly. “I know of this dog, he belongs to the original Green Lantern.”

Perking up, Ice steps forward. “Yes! He is Wonder Dog! Mister Scott needed someone to watch him while he had business out of town! And we had just teamed up together and got along so well…”

He stands tall, towering over Ice as he looks down at her. There isn’t the darkness and fear that Batman inspires but Ice does feel a large dose of anxiety wash over her.

“Ice, we cannot keep animals on the property permanently,” he informs her.

Deflating, Ice bites nervously on her nail. “I know.”

“However, taking into account the considerable merit of our current houseguest, and the temporary status of his stay, it is only fair to amend the rules,” J’onn says kindly.

Ice squeals as she throws her arms around him. “Thank you!”

“It seems only right, considering the rules are basically meaningless in this embassy by now,” he says more grimly with a sigh. “I believe we will have more luck house training Wonder Dog than Beetle, Booster, or Guy Gardner.”

***

When Alan Scott comes, Ice isn’t ready. In fact, she’s the furthest thing from ready. She considers freezing her bedroom door shut and staying inside with Streak forever.

Fire assures her that, if that happens, Fire will be forced to burn the ice away and it could hurt their friendship. Even Streak isn’t worth that, Ice decides.

The boys are all lined up in the foyer with Alan Scott, Beetle has popcorn, like they’re anxious to see some big production.

The moment Ice walks down the stairs with Streak, she can feel the little guy struggling in her arms.

Lowering herself on the bottom step, Ice feels her lip quivering and she holds Streak even tighter. “You are such a good boy, and I know you’re gonna miss me just as much as I miss you,” she begins to say.

Wonder Dog earns his name with a well-placed kick to Ice’s chest, twisting himself like a noodle out of her grips, and barking as he races down the foyer to his owner who is happily awaiting him. Ice isn’t sure if she’s ever seen a tail wag so much before.

“Thank you, Miss Olafsdotter,” Alan says, chuckling as he bends over and latches an old fashion clip leash onto Streak’s leather collar. “I know Streak was on his best behavior — it’s the only mode he has — but it was good to feel assured he was with good people.” He gives skeptical glances to the snickering trio beside him and grips the leash a little tighter. “Mostly good people. I’ll send you a check for your troubles.”

“Whoa, check? She gets paid for this?” Booster pipes up.

“We have dog sitting services, too, y’know,” Beetle begins selling as he follows Alan out the door.

Beside Ice, Fire puts a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, he’s gone now, you don’t have to keep up the brave face.”

Before Fire is even done, Ice bursts into tears and flings her arms around Fire’s waist.

“Oh, boy,” Fire says, patting Ice’s head.

“Aw, Tora, don’t worry, I can get you a better dog,” Guy says, attempting to stroll up while avoiding Fire’s direct line of attack.

Martian Manhunter’s head snaps in Guy’s direction. “No more pets in the embassy.”

“Okay, but what if we’re cutting you in on the dog sitting business?” Beetle asks while Booster is already looking through craigslist.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ice sobs, “there is no better dog than Wonder Dog.”

“Okay, that dog slept for eighteen hours a day and wouldn’t even eat scraps on the floor, only in his little silver dish,” Fire reminds her. “It was the most bourgeois dog ever.”

“And I loved him,” Ice continues, rubbing at her eyes.

Martian Manhunter actually looks pained by Ice’s crying. “I will take another look at our leasing agreement,” he mutters.

[chromium-siren]

Lifeboat to Mars (Poe x Reader)-Part 1

(A/N: Sorry if the beginning’s shaky, I’ll probably edit it. Also, I’m changing up some things from my original idea so the plot makes sense later on.)

(TW: violence, mentions of death)

May 3, 2400- What seemed like an ordinary week began to spiral out of control. The day before, the sky was filled with strange satellites- only for everyone to find out that those weren’t ordinary satellites. Then while you were watching television, something odd came on the screen.

“Citizens of Earth!” a snakelike voice hissed, as a tall, gaunt thing with rows of sharp teeth appeared on the screen. The creature appeared to be a person, but with gray skin, an angular face, and soulless black eyes. “I am the Phalanx emperor. Unfortunately, our planet’s last emperor was a fool who drove everyone off our homeworld. And you planet... is the perfect spot to colonize. Surrender immediately! You are now all under control of the Phalanx!” the emperor hissed, laughing maniacally. And like that, the screen faded to static, the emperor’s laugh ringing in your ears. 

May 4, 2400- No one was entirely sure what was going to happen, but you and everyone else began watching the news religiously. President Organa now appeared on screen, regal as ever, as she calmly addressed the public. 

“Good evening, everyone. While the Phalanx situation continues to escalate, I have been working with the science officers behind the Kenobi-1 colony project. We are unsure if evacuation will be necessary, but if it does come to that, we want to advise everyone to get any essential possessions together if we do have to evacuate. Anyone who chooses to try and stop the Phalanx, we wish you the best of luck. We will try to keep everyone posted on any changes. Thank you, and try to stay safe, everyone.” You immediately began going through the house and deciding what would be essential or not. 

May 5, 2400- The news was hacked by the Phalanx emperor again. “We are getting closer and closer, people of Earth. The clock is ticking before we colonize.” 

May 7, 2400- After a fairly reasonable wait and a easy process, you were glad to find that you were going to be a passenger aboard the starship Fulminatrix. The Fulminatrix wasn’t just any old starship- it was designed and built by none other than Armitage Hux, an inventor whom many believed was the best in your corner of the galaxy. 

May 8, 2400- Phalanx ships were spotted in the Earth’s atmosphere. President Organa now sent out an announcement that voluntary evacuation would begin soon, and those who were to fight against the Phalanx began preparing to mobilize. 

May 9, 2400- The Phalanx had arrived on Earth. Although they didn’t have weaponry, they still went around frightening people and threatening them. You knew you had to get out of this place- if it was the last thing you’d ever do.

May 10, 2400- “This is an emergency message from President Organa,” anything that had a speaker blared, before a familiar voice was heard over the radio. 

“Everyone, I know this is a stressful time, but your lives are all in danger. Please proceed in a calm and orderly fashion to your local spaceports. Several expeditionary ships will be there to bring people to our Martian colony, Kenobi-1. While travelling, please stay safe and try not to interact with any Phalanx. Thank you, and godspeed, travelers.” You got out of the car and took your luggage, handing a military officer your ticket. 

“The Fulminatrix is over there,” they said, pointing you towards a stately vessel, handing the ticket, which was now stamped, back to you. You hurried aboard the ship, and accidentally bumped into someone wearing a pilot’s suit. 

“Hey, watch it!” the person said, and you found yourself facing a young man with curly brown hair. Also, he was incredibly handsome. But you felt weird as he looked at you up and down. 

“What’s your problem?” you said, getting on the defensive. 

“The ship’s gonna be leaving soon, you’ve gotta get to your cabin,” he said, escorting you to a luxurious cabin, complete with a plush bed. 

“Wait- I’m staying in this place? On a spaceship going to MARS?!” you said, shocked. “This is really impractical!” The pilot shushed you, and now you heard the sound of electronic chimes. A woman began to materialize in your room, and you quickly realized that she was a hologram- a pretty impressive one. 

“Welcome aboard the Fulminatrix. I am Phasma, the ship’s AI and your personal concierge. In light of the current situation, our ship will be transporting you safely to the Kenobi-1 colony on Mars. Arrival will be in a month, enough time for you to get situated aboard the ship. During lift-offs and landing, all staterooms will be pressurized. For your safety, wearing the pressure suits and helmets provided and staying seated during launch is mandatory. Thank you, and have a pleasant flight.” Phasma’s hologram bowed and then faded out of view. You then turned over to look at the guy- now he had a helmet on.

“Is that the pressure suit?” you asked.

“Yep,” he said, handing it to you. “Just slip it on over your clothes and put on the helmet.” You nodded and slipped the suit on, sliding the helmet on. He buckled himself into an armchair, and you eased yourself onto a chaise lounge that somehow had a seatbelt. Weird. Suddenly, Phasma’s voice was heard again.

“Attention passengers, we will be launching within a minute. Ensure that all possessions are secured.” A low rumble was heard and you felt the ground start to shake.

“You okay?” the guy asked, looking at you.

“Yeah. I’m (Y/N),” you blurted, holding on to the edge of the chaise.

“Well, (Y/N), my name’s Poe Dameron. Here we go,” he said, as the rumbling intensified. Suddenly, the ship began to move upwards, and the sky from your stateroom window grew darker and darker, until it was pitch black. You had your eyes on Poe, who was looking a bit nervous, yet somehow relaxed.

“You’re used to this?” you asked.

“Yeah, being a pilot’s in my blood. But I gotta admit, those eight and a half minutes are always nerve-wracking, y’know?” he said.

“Nerve-wracking?! This is literally my first time going into space!” you responded. You were about to give Poe a mouthful when those same chimes from earlier rang. Phasma had made her return, except she appeared dressed as an old time airplane stewardess, complete with pillbox hat and scarf.

“Hello again, passengers. We are now out of the Earth’s orbit and en route to the Kenobi-1 colony on Mars. For the convenience of all passengers, the entire ship and all locations have gravity and breathable air. At this moment, all of you are now free to move about your cabins and the Fulminatrix. Stewards will be coming to your staterooms to hand out special wristbands. These will serve as your room keys, and have a built-in concierge AI as well.” Phasma paused, and then smiled. “Looks like I’ll be around a lot of you for a while!” she said, laughing like an actual human.

“No, that’s not creepy at all,” Poe said, removing the helmet. As if on cue, a steward knocked on the door. Once you answered, he handed you and Poe two wristbands, which you both put on.

“Well, your staterooms have basic amenities but with a luxurious twist. The master bedroom has a king-sized bed, a full bathroom with luxe toiletries and towels, and a spacious bathtub. The adjoining room has a queen sized bed with premium linens. The living room has a couch with a pull-out bed, and there is a kitchenette and bathroom in your suite. And yes, the bedrooms do have televisions. If extra cots or beds for children are needed, please don’t hesitate to contact our stewards. While exploring the ship, you can activate me by speaking “concierge” or “Phasma” into the microphone. Well, that’s all I have to say. On behalf of myself and the crew of the Fulminatrix, we wish you a pleasant flight. This information can be viewed again at any time you wish by going to the first channel on the television. Thank you, and I hope to see you soon!” she chirruped, before fading out of view. You and Poe both looked at each other in shock.

“Well, that was interesting,” he said, looking down at the wristband. “Want to explore the ship?” You felt the weird sensation you and Poe had disappear, and a smile bloomed on your face.

“Sure.” He nodded towards the door, and opened it. You then looked out onto a sprawling atrium where stewards, people, and robots mingled together. “Whoa.”

“Okay then. Uh, Phasma, how many floors does this ship have?” Poe asked. Within a second, the holographic girl appeared. This time, she wore a blue jumpsuit, which made her look better than that cheesy flight attendant get-up.

“The Fulminatrix has fourteen floors in total. You are on the sixth,” she said, looking around. “Would you like a tour?” she asked. Well, now you’d thought you saw everything- an AI that actually interacted with you! You looked towards Poe and he nodded.

“What the hell? Let’s do it,” Poe said, as the two of you walked into the sprawling atrium, ready to explore.

[cybertronsjewelalexis]

Soulmate AU Drabble

Anonymous said: 20 for Star/Alexis? :3

AU Drabble where you don’t know your soulmate until you hear them say your name.

[[ Oh this is a good one Anon! Incoming long drabble under the Read More! Centered in the Canon Armada universe. Normal formatting under Read More. I don’t know why but its being screwy in some places. ]]

Was she a fool for following Rad out to the surface of Cybertron with their Mini-cons and not telling Optimus? Absolutely. The more that Alexis thought about it the longer that she knew something would happen to them, and it might not be a good thing. The kids were not strangers to being by themselves or protecting themselves when they could from the Autobots, but on a foreign planet she could hardly keep her nerves about her. She listened to Rad’s reassurance that there had to be something in the caves of Cybertron that would tell them why all three of them had ventured across the galaxy.

Their Mini-cons revved to life as they approached an entrance. Sureshock, Grindor, and HighWire all collectively heading in the same direction without words or acknowledgement to their human allies. “It seems like they’re heading somewhere in a trance!” She called out nervously to Rad, her fears coming to get the better of her as the three of them ventured deep into Cybertron’s core. The metal frames of the cave around them blending in, she was losing her bearings quickly. It was Carlos’ suggestion to reach out to HotShot and as Lazerbeak flew to find the Autobot, the kids continued forward on their semi-unwilling quest.

The time seemed to fly as the Mini-cons guided them through the caves, Alexis had all but lost track of how many twists and turns they had taken. A side path they had taken suddenly opened wide around them, revealing a Cybertronian sized tunnel, from the straight edges she assumed it was bot-made. It was only then that she heard a familiar voice, one that brought back memories of a barn and some quick thinking; Thrust. The second voice that she heard was one that without a second guess she knew; Starscream.

From the short time that Starscream had defected to the Autobot side, the kids were kind to the ‘Con and had even earned a Martian gemstone from him as a gift from a Mini-con retrieval mission. Starscream had never really referred to any of the kids by their names, despite everybody introducing themselves, he would just collectively speak to them. On the few occasions that she had addressed him directly, he was standoff, refusing to let anybody near him. Despite this, Alexis had a trust in the ‘Con that rivaled that of her trust in Optimus Prime. Perhaps it was the fact that he had brought back a gemstone from Mars without the kids asking him they had asked Jetfire to do that. Maybe instead it was about the passionate speech that she heard he had given to convince a Mini-con to side with the Autobots. She knew that there was some good inside of him, even if he hardly chose to show it.

Once the kids had come close enough to the two Decepticons, the kids all parted from their Mini-cons, who transformed into their robot forms and stood beside the humans. Alexis stepped forward, “Starscream!” She was expecting an acknowledgement of some sort, but she was shaken to her core when he called out her name in response.

“Alexis!”

She felt her heartbeat fluctuate in her chest, fluttering in a manner that almost made her feel weak. She raised a hand to her chest, gently pressing against the cushioned suit that she wore as she and Starscream locked eyes for a few moments. Alexis could swear that time had froze in those short moments, as her heart rate rose in her chest. She felt like she could hardly breathe. Her eyes never left Starscream, and it was in those moments that Alexis felt a vibration permeate her whole body.

It started from the pocket of her suit, where she had the Martian pendant she had fashioned from the rock he brought back for her and the boys gently tucked away. The sensation filled her with a sense of comfort and reassurance. She was no longer afraid despite Thrust holding the Requiem Blaster and the Skyboom Shield in his hands. When Carlos and Rad stepped forward beside her, reminding all of them not to back down that she finally averted her gaze to Thrust, who was actively pointing the Requiem Blaster towards them, threatening to eliminate them. It was only natural for all three of them to step back in defense, but only Alexis noticed Starscream’s look of actual worry, and she watched with fear stricken eyes as he stepped forward, telling thrust not to shoot them. The Requiem Blaster’s charge shifted to Starscream and before he could react, Alexis watched the blast hit his core.

She could hardly hold back the gasp in her throat as she watched Starscream take a direct hit for them from the Reqiuem Blaster. It was then that she felt real fear; the fear of losing Starscream, the one that she loved.

“STARSCREAM!” She cried out, held back by Rad as she dared to try and rush to Starscream’s aid, as his body flew backwards into the empty cavern space behind him. It was then a blinding white light permeated the room, knocking everybody backwards and unconscious. In this state of complete nothingness, before she would come to in a different part of space and time, it all became clear to her why she held onto Starscream and trusted him despite his betrayal in returning to the Decepticons.

She loved him. Alexis had not expected to come to find a soulmate that was from another part of the galaxy, but legends of the power that love as an emotion has on a person was undeniable. It was often said on Earth that you would find your eternal soulmate once you had heard them say your name, and it could not have been any truer for her.

As her eyes opened and she awoke to a different reality, there was only one thought on her mind. Starscream. She had to get back to him, she just had to!

~~

[argyle-s]

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME CHAPTER 29/38

Rating: Mature

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Conversations are had.  Murder is contemplated.

Notes:  I wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on Chapter 28.  There was a lot of things in that chapter that are very close to my heart, and I’m glad so many people found meaning in it.  Today’s chapter is a little quieter and a bit shorter, but enjoyed the calm while it lasts.  We’ve coming up on the end game, and once it starts, things don’t slow down.

Thanks to @ifourmindbeso for her great work as a beta. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.

Chapter 29 - Family Time

Kara had barely finished closing the door before she found herself wrapped in a hug.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Eliza asked.

“It was just a convenience store robbery,” Kara said, giving Alex a confused look over Eliza’s shoulder. Alex rolled her eyes and turned around, walking back over towards the couch, leaving a very confused Kara at the mercy of Eliza, who stepped back, resting her hands on Kara’s shoulders.

“That’s not what I meant,” Eliza said. “I saw what you wrote.”

“Oh,” Kara said, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us you had a girlfriend?” Eliza asked.

“Well,” Kara said, looking desperately toward Alex, who was sitting on the couch, eating popcorn, and watching some reality tv show. Kara looked back at Eliza and told the truth. “She wasn’t from this planet.”

“Honey, you know that wouldn’t have mattered,” Eliza said.

Alex snorted.

“Yeah,” Kara said, “I kinda think it would have. Besides, she was a little older, and her crew wasn’t the most reputable bunch.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I don’t wanna talk about Sara,” Kara snapped, making Eliza take a step back. “It means that if I tell you about her, you’re going to get mad, because you don’t agree with my choices, but instead of talking to me about it like an adult you’re going to wait until I’m at work tomorrow and take it out on Alex. Which isn’t fair because Alex didn’t know anything about Sara until a couple of weeks ago. But if she told you that you’d get on her for not being involved enough in my life. And I’ve already had to go through this twice today, and… it hurts and I just want to sit on the couch and eat ice cream and pretend today hasn’t been a complete disaster.”

She walked past Eliza, who was looking at her like she’d grown a second head, and went to the fridge, being careful not to jerk the freezer door off the hinges as she opened it.

“Alex, tell me you did not eat all the Slow Churned Double Fudge Brownie,” Kara said.

“Behind the Slow Churned Peanut Butter Cup,” Alex said without turning around.

“That’s Cookie Dough!”

“Next one back,” Alex said.

Kara pushed the Half Gallon of Cookie Dough aside, and found a suspiciously unopened Half Gallon of Slow Churned Double Fudge Brownie.

“You finished it last night and went and got another tub this morning, didn’t you?” Kara asked as she turned around and grabbed a spoon.

“If I say yes, will you bring me the Strawberry?”

“Regular or slow churned?”

“How is that even a question?” Alex asked.

Kara shrugged and grabbed the Slow Churned Strawberry, and a second spoon, then went over and sat on the couch, handing the ice cream to her sister.

“Undercover boss?”

“Yep,” Alex said.

They sat together, hips touching, as they ate ice cream and watched the CEO of Yankee Candle try to fool his employees into thinking he was one of them. After a few minutes, Eliza sat next to them, and Kara noticed that she was working her way through the Mint Chocolate Chip.

When they reached the end of the episode, not that any of them really cared what was going on, Kara picked up the remote and turned the TV off.

“I’m sorry I yelled,” Kara said.

“I know,” Eliza said. “I’m sorry I pushed.”

“You pushed because you care,” Kara said. “I love that about you. But I can’t talk to you about Sara.”

“I don’t want you to feel like there’s ever anything you can’t tell me,” Eliza said.

“It’s not that,” Kara said. “I want to tell you everything, but there are a *lot* of other conversations we need to have first. Like the one about the DEO.”

Kara felt both Alex and Eliza move, and when she looked up from her ice cream, both of them were looking at her. Well, more glaring on Alex’s case, but still.

“What do you know about the DEO?” Eliza asked.

Kara stuck her spoon in the ice cream and started digging for a chunk of brownie. “I know Hank Henshaw came to the house that night you and Jeremiah caught me and Alex out flying. I know what Jeremiah went to work for them to keep me safe. I know he disappeared on a mission, and you think Hank Henshaw murdered him, which isn’t far from the truth.”

“Kara,” Alex said, warning in her tone.

“It’s okay, Alex,” Kara said as she took a bite of ice cream. “I talked to President Marsdin this morning. She’s signing the Amnesty Act and the Pardons next Monday, along with an order declassifying the DEO.” She turned back to Eliza. “I’ve been in touch with them for almost a year. Passing them names and information to help them capture dangerous criminals that escaped from a Kryptonian prison.”

“Kara-“

“Alex didn’t know,” Kara said. “I kept it from her. Made it one of the conditions of working with them that she not find out.”

“Why would you do that?” Eliza asked.

“Because I work for them,” Alex said. “I’ve worked for them for almost two years.”

“You two went to work for them knowing what they did you your father?”

Kara shook her head. “Alex didn’t know about Jeremiah. Not until after I came out as Supergirl. I knew, but it’s complicated. Hank Henshaw isn’t in charge of the DEO anymore. The man running the DEO, the man everyone thinks is Hank Henshaw, is actually a shape shifter. A Green Martian named J’onn J’onzz. Jeremiah saved his life in Peru, kept the real Henshaw from murdering him. J’onn has spent the last ten years trying to turn the DEO into something good, and he’s spent that time watching us, protecting us, covering for me anytime I slipped and someone caught me using my powers. Right up until last September when I contacted him.”

“Why not tell your sister?” Eliza asked.

“Because what I was doing was dangerous, and because there were people out there who were watching the DEO. My aunt, and her people. All the stuff I’ve done the last few weeks, the interviews, the media blitz, the websites and social media campaign. I’ve been planning this for over a year, Eliza. I knew my Aunt was out there. I knew she was planning something terrible. I knew I had to stop it. I knew Marsdin was sympathetic to alien refugees, and has been pushing quietly for the amnesty act. I might have preferred to make my debut as Supergirl in a bit less dramatic a fashion, but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t let those people die. And once I was out, it just made sense to work with the DEO. They can house supervillains and metahumans, though we’re working on transferring metas over to NCPD.”

“How did you find all this out?” Eliza asked.

Kara shook her head. “I’m sorry. That’s not something I can tell you. Not yet. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just… It’s complicated. There are things I haven’t even told Clark, and he’s been working with me on some of this. Just, we need you to trust us… Just a few more weeks. If everything goes as planned, we can tell you everything by Christmas.”

“Okay,” Eliza said.

Kar stood up and looked at Alex. “Scoot over,” she said.

“What?” Alex asked.

“It’s your turn in the middle.”

“What?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “You know I can just pick you up and move you.”

“Fine,” Alex said. “But no chocolate pecan pie for you.” She grumpily scooted over towards Eliza, and Kara dropped down on her other side.

“You two really need to talk,” Kara said.

Eliza gives her a puzzled look before shifting her gaze to Alex, who is still glaring daggers at Kara.

“Look, I can’t have this conversation for you, but all three of us know that things between you two have been strained for a while” Kara said. “And part of that is my fault. I just waltzed into your lives, and took up all of Eliza’s time and energy, and even before Jeremiah disappeared, Alex had this kind of co-parent caretaker role pushed on her with no warning and she lost all of her friends because of me. And even after we worked out our differences, all the time Alex and I spent together was about me. It was about my secrets, my needs, my grief, my trouble understanding humans and life on Earth. Alex buried entire parts of herself, so she could be there for me, and you, Eliza, you came down on her so hard, but not me. I understand why. You thought I was fragile, and maybe I was. I was a girl who just wanted her mother, and who’d seen everything burned out of the stars. But it wasn’t fair to her and whether you meant to or not, you hurt her.”

“You two are my family here on Earth, more so than anyone. Even Kal-El and Astra. And I need my family, but I also need you two to be okay with each other, because things are going to get hard. What Alex and I are doing is hard. And we both need our mother. Now, I can stay, if you want, or I can give you both some space, but please talk to each other.”

Kara watched them both, pretty sure based on the look Alex was giving her that she was contemplating force feeding her kryptonite ice cream.

“Maybe you could give us half an hour,” Eliza said, “If that’s okay with you, Alex?”

Alex looked at Eliza for a moment, before she reluctantly nodded.

“Okay,” Kara said. “I’ll go get us some dinner.”

“No Hawaiian!” Alex and Eliza both said at the same time.

“You both suck.”

“She’s changed,” Eliza said once the door was closed.

“Yeah,” Alex said. “She’s ah… She’s been through a lot.”

“I know,” Eliza said as she turned back to Alex.

“No,” Alex said. “It’s not just Krypton, and Dad, and Kenny, and even Sara. There’s more, and I want to tell you, but we can’t.”

“Okay,” Eliza said. “Okay. I’ll accept that.” She reached out and took Alex’s hand. “Tell me what I can do?”

Alex took a deep breath, stealing herself. “Just tell me why I’m not enough? I… I do everything you ask. I took care of Kara. I made my whole life about her. I worked so hard to be perfect, so you wouldn’t have to worry about me, and I did all the things Dad used to do. I learned to fix things, and change the oil in the cars and I helped Kara with her application essay for college and I just… It’s never felt like enough. I joined the DEO, I went out there to fight aliens and protect the planet so Kara wouldn’t have to, but I’ve known, ever since the plane, you’d be mad, and I don’t know what I need to do to make you love me again.” She wasn’t sure when the tears had started, didn’t even realize she was crying until Eliza reached up and wiped the tears off her face.

“Oh, no. Alex, no. I never meant to make you think I didn’t love you. I was hard on you because I wanted you to be better than me. I always needed something to push me, to drive me, and I just, I thought if I could be that for you, if I could push you, it would make things easier, until you learned to find a way to drive yourself. But I always loved you. You were my star, Alex, my Supergirl, long before Kara came along. And she’s right. I thought she was fragile. Broken. I didn’t know how to do anything but accept her, and give her time to heal. But I never wanted you to feel like less.”

Eliza reached for her, pulling her into a hug, and Alex hugged her back, not able to put a name to the mix of emotions running through her in that moment.

“Now,” Eliza said. “Tell me about this date.”

Murder, Alex decided. The mix of emotions was definitely murder. And Kara was going to be the victim.

[snowbunnie42]

Soul and the Treaty of the Moon Extra

I wrote a little drabble with Tsugumi, Meme, and Anya watching the celebrity wedding from the reverb I made the art for, Soul and the Treaty of the Moon, which can be found here: https://sahdah.tumblr.com/post/164622378000/soul-and-the-treaty-of-the-moon

Thanks for being my partner @sahdah !

“Guys, guys!  It’s starting!  Look!” Tsugumi gushed, swiping her finger on her Pod onto the blank space on her bedroom wall saved for using her Pod as a projector.  

Anya scoffed, a typical sound for her snobby attitude.  Secretly, or perhaps not-so-secretly, her Pod’s screen showed the Wedding Live Forum, of which she was a member.  She was re-reading the theories on Maka’s dress, which she was very interested in.  She loved fashion.

The live stream of the wedding now played on Tsugumi’s wall, the Pod working as the speaker.  Pods were a necessity on Phobus--they floated obediently behind you as you walked, had the same functions as what used to be known as smartphones, and inside held a personal emergency kit in case something happened to the dome that protected their civilization on an un-terraformed moon.

Meme, their other friend, stumbled back into the bedroom holding bowls of snacks.  She passed them around and smiled at the screen.

“Welcome, you space travelers to the wedding of the millennium!” A female reporter’s voice greeted watchers.  The view showed Important People from all over the galaxy filling in the hall reserved for the ceremony.  

Eventually the guests stopped coming in (the room was full to bursting!) and music began.  The girls watched the prince walk down to the front of the room.  He wore a red outfit with flames at the collar.  It was interesting to be sure, but Tsugumi privately thought he could have done better.  The commentator disagreed: “The second prince of Mars wears a striking red suit...flames adorn his neck.  Calm your hearts all you lusting fools, he’s about to be officially taken!”

All three girls moved closer to the wall in anticipation of the princess and the wedding dress.  Millions of people around the galaxy were wondering.  It was Big News, even more important than politics according to the media.  Yet in its own way it was about politics, but the general public didn’t know or care.  Would the dress be more Martian or Lunar in fashion?  Could it possibly be some sort of, well, marriage, of the crazy or normal fashions?  

Suddenly the screen went dark.  The girls could hear the guests and reporter’s confusion.  What if there was an error right before the dress reveal?  How terrible!  But suddenly the guests of the party began to ooh and ahh.  

“AH!  Pod, fix brightness levels!”

“Brightness levels are at an optimal level for human viewing on a white wall in daylight, my princess.” Tsugumi’s Pod was programmed to end each comment with a random pet name or compliment, said in a reasonable imitation of Emperor Wesley’s voice.  She downloaded it online and loved it.

“What?  OH!”

Princess Maka appeared on screen, glowing, not only in her appearance but her very dress, emitted a purple glow that resembled stars. “The cloud is clearing, hold your hearts you watchers of the night skies, she has arrived!”

[opaldirect-blog]

Multi Colored Solid Opal Necklace

Opal is a champion amongest the most awesome gemstone on earth. There is commonly a long ways past meets the eye for opals. Here at Opal Closeouts we live and breath everything there is about Opals. They have a surprising grandstand of shades with entrancing structures. They look incredible on loops, pendants, rings, fasten, watches and on such countless different settings. Opals are certainly fascinating, yet have you anytime expected to acknowledge what they're about? Or then again have you anytime considered where opal is found, how opal is molded, the authentic background of opals, the surprising ground-breaking points of interest, celebrated ties, birthstone substances consequently essentially more? Here is a video of 10 heavenly realities about opals that you may have not known. 1) Birthstone For October Opal is the specialist birthstone for October. Capably opal symbolizes faultlessness and desire. It has been seen as a guarded stone, as it keeps the wearer from harm. Opal is a remarkable present for your loved ones brought into the world this month. 2) Molded By Storm The astounding opal is surrounded from deluge. There is some supposition on how correctly this significant gemstone shapes, anyway many trust it is surrounded when water from storm breaks down into gaps in the stone. At the point when the water disseminates, the silica that is betrayed dries out and hardens into significant opal. 3) Martian Opal Opal has been found on Mars! It is one of only a lot of gemstones that have ever been found outside of our planet (the other gemstone being Peridot that is found from space). 4) Out of date Opal Opallios is the Greek word for Opals essentialness To see a distinction in concealing. The Roman word for Opal is Opalus meaning significant stone. The old-fashioned Greeks believed that opals were surrounded from the tears of satisfaction wailed by Zeus when he squashed the titans, and that the opal displayed prophetic powers. 5) The Leader Of Gemstones The old Romans thought of it as a picture of desire and good karma. A roman analyst in 75AD summed up our stunning opal saying: "Some opal pass on such a play inside them, that they equal the most significant and most extreme shades of painters. Others… impersonate the flaring fire of expending sulfur and even the stunning burst of devouring oil." He pondered that this distinctive pearl incorporated the red of ruby, the green of emerald, the yellow of topaz, the blue of sapphire, and the purple of amethyst." This is the reason Opal is regularly called the Leader of Gemstones. 6) Australian Opal Australia conveys around 95% of the universes opals. The greater part of this Opal is white Opal from the fields of Coober Pedy in South Australia. 7) Opals In Local History Australian neighborhood Locals uncover to us that opal is our producer's impression, that reached the Earth at the base of a rainbow to bring congruity. 8) Are Opals Karma Or Not? Opal is a Blessed gemstone. Most human headways believe opal to be a blessed stone. There have been a couple of extraordinary cases to this consolidating an English creator in the 1800's and other gemstone sponsors who state Opal is mishap in their advancing. Maybe they comprehended opal is the best gemstone on earth and expected to destroy it! In any case, this campaign has failed and now Opal is even seen as an appeal in specific countries and a materialistic fool to guarantee in others. 9) Prominence Venerates Opals Ruler Victoria's favored gemstone was Opal! She had Sapphires, Rubies and Gems from wherever all through the English space yet experienced energetic affections for the intoxicating shades of Opals. 10) Something different under the surface The Eye The play of concealing you find in Opal is a direct result of an immense number of little silica Circles of different sizes. These circles refract light and cause the magnificent apparition tones you find in an opal. The circles must be just the right size and of a uniform sort to make enough concealing for our eyes to see. For a scope of shocking opal gems including blazing white opal, dark opal and Australian rock opal rings pendants,necklaces australia and hoops, kindly visit https://australianopaldirect.com/.

[luxus4me]

Design your way http://j.mp/2reJqzN

With so many cool and luxurious smart watches around, picking a good one for you will be tough work.

There are a number of criteria to consider before investing your money, including battery life, a solid operating system, or extras such as fitness functionalities.

To make the challenge even more complicated, your smart watch is also supposed to match your style, and resemble your personality.

There are many people who still have no idea how smart watches work, and the reasons are pretty self-explanatory. These fancy gadgets are not an absolute necessity, and they’re still more expensive than most of us can afford.

The price, nevertheless, only justifies the plethora of advanced capabilities, including the chance to exchange messages, access information, or track improvement. Basically, a smart watch can cover for most of what your phone is doing, while completing your elegant looks at the same time.

Certain popular smart watches are even used to make and receive calls, but that’s not the main rationale behind them. What they intend to do is to allow quick access on improvements and notifications, so think well whether you actually need one.

Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch

Get fit in style with Fitbit Blaze—a smart fitness watch that helps you maximize every workout and every day. With advanced technology in a versatile design, this revolutionary device is built to track your workouts, monitor your performance stats, and gauge your progress.

PurePulse continuous heart rate and multi-sport modes enhance every exercise, while next-generation features like Connected GPS and FitStar workouts on your wrist help you take your fitness to the next level. All-day activity and sleep tracking, smartphone notifications and Reminders to Move help you stay on top of your day.

And interchangeable band and frames and customizable clock faces on the hi-res color touchscreen let you personalize your style for every occasion. With all this and more, Fitbit Blaze has everything you need to reach your goals, packed into one sleek timepiece.

Huawei Watch Black Stainless Steel

Inspired by the classic designs of luxury watches, with cutting-edge technology, the Huawei Watch redefines what we’ve come to expect from a smartwatch. Developed as a statement piece rather than a smartphone for your wrist, it combines elegant craftsmanship with Android Wear to deliver a new high-end standard for the category. It’s smart, redefined.

Created using sophisticated materials like a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, cold-forged stainless steel cases, and fine leather and stainless steel bands, the Huawei Watch’s style is just as advanced as its functional features.

Featuring iOS and iPhone compatibility, a compact design, and the sharpest screen of any smartwatch in the market, the 400×400 display delivers notifications, music from your phone, and more than 4,000 apps you can personalize and explore without being tethered to your phone – keeping you connected rather than distracted.

Whether you’re getting ready to walk down the aisle, hike up a mountain, or step into an important meeting, the Huawei Watch seamlessly fits any situation while tracking your movement with built-in heart rate monitoring and exercise pattern recognition.

Pebble Time Steel Smartwatch for Apple/Android Devices

Pebble Time Steel keeps you connected to the things that matter most, and look great doing it. Its unparalleled battery lasts up to 10 days between charges, and its bright always-on display never keeps you waiting.

Manage notifications, calendars, calls, music playback, and more – right from your wrist. Includes Pebble Health, a built-in activity and sleep tracker with daily reports and weekly insights. Buttoned up or dressed down, it’s Time well-spent. Pebble Time Steel works with both Android and iPhone smartphones.

It’s a watch, not a phone. Whether you’re managing your packed weekly schedule, or getting out of town for a long weekend, a full charge powers you for over a week.

Apple 42mm Smart Watch

Stay connected in style with the 2015 42mm Apple Watch Sport, which comes with a rose gold anodized aluminum chassis and a stone fluoroelastomer Sport band. Designed for users looking for the next generation of connectivity, Apple’s Watch moves your iPhone’s apps and functions to your wrist so you can do more while leaving your phone in your pocket.

Apple Watch Sport connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth 4.0 and displays notifications, apps, and more on its 1.5″ display. It can also connect directly to the Internet thanks to 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. The internal battery lasts for up to 18 hours of normal use and is recharged with an included inductive magnetic charger.

Pebble Time Smartwatch

The best interface for a great smartwatch is time. Pebble Time’s new timeline interface respects that busy people want to Get. Things. Done. Pebble Time lets you act now, reflect on the past, and look into the future.

With a new color e-paper screen and a thin, comfortable ergonomic design, the Pebble Time smartwatch is the companion you’ll want with you every moment, every day.

With battery life up to 7 days, Time is always ready and waiting. Whether you’re into sleep tracking or trail trekking, live life unplugged without stressing about the next charge.

Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch

Featuring a classic circular design with a rotating navigation bezel and a genuine leather strap, the Samsung Gear S2 classic smartwatch provides quick and easy access to notifications, apps, and widgets.

Track your fitness, check sports scores, skim restaurant reviews, and more. The Gear S2 classic is compatible with most Android and iOS devices (1) so you can sync your devices and get more out of every moment of your day.

The Samsung Gear S2 classic gives you access to all your important information in a classic circular design. Easily locate your favorite apps around the perimeter and just rotate the bezel to navigate through your notifications, apps, and widgets.

The 360 x 360 pixel AMOLED touchscreen of the Gear S2 classic offers crisp images and sharp text on a compact 1.2-inch display.

ASUS ZenWatch 3

ASUS ZenWatch 3 follows the tradition of fine watchmaking with its luxurious,detail-focused design and construction from high-quality materials. It provides timely information at a glance, offers a wealth of useful features that make your life easier, and features a customizable design so you can create your own perfect watch.

Innovative quick-charging technology keeps ASUS ZenWatch 3 on your wrist longer, so you can always stay informed and be in the moment.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which consumes 25% less energy than the previous Snapdragon 400 processor for dramatically improved battery life. An all-new Eco Mode instantly enabled with one click of the watch’s bottom button extends battery life by more than 200% and turns off networking and notifications for times when you do not want to be disturbed.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 also features exclusive HyperCharge technology that provides industry-leading charge times just 15 minutes to reach a 60% charge and a convenient magnetic charging connector that snaps into place automatically.

Motorola Moto 360 2nd Gen.

All healthy relationships need space. Including the one with your phone. That’s why there’s the new Moto 360. It streamlines your mobile life by delivering the information that matters to you, giving you more time to do the things you love.

With designs made specifically for men or women, it’s easy to find the color, size, and style that fits you best. Because you deserve choice when it comes to what you wear on your wrist.

Updates, not interruptions: Stay connected and up to date by getting messages, news, weather, and more without constantly having to check your phone.

Men’s and women’s collections: Choose from modern designs made specifically for men or women, each one precision-crafted and built to last.

Classic round design: With edge-to-edge glass and an exceptionally thin bezel, you see more all the way around.

Martian Watches Notifier Smartwatch

Don’t be fooled into thinking the Martian Notifier’s small screen means small features. This connected timepiece, one of the most highly-recognized smartwatches on the market today, is loaded with some of the most advanced functions of any smartwatch available, built into an always-on classic design.

Not a flat screen image of a watch; but a beautiful, award-winning analog fashion watch.

Getting alerts from hundreds of Apps is the number one use of most smartwatches. Most use the same vibration for every alert, forcing you to always look at your watch to see what alert just arrived. Instead, Notifier uses vibration patterns so you know the type of alert without looking.

The unique “tap glass” feature lets you bring the alert back within 5 minutes, and you can scroll through past messages anytime. Plus much more!

Michael Kors Smartwatch

Michael Kors Access Bradshaw gold-tone-and-pave display smartwatch. Powered by Android Wear, this smartwatch connects with your favorite apps and is compatible with Apple and Android smartphones. With built-in fitness tracking through Google Fit, you can view calories burned, steps and distance traveled.

Receive notifications, such as calls and alerts, at a glance as well. Fully personalize your watch by selecting or customizing the watch face of your choice and changing out the straps to match your activity or look.

With an always-on display, customize your notifications to see texts, emails, reminders and more – all in real time. Whether your style is classic and glamorous, sporty and streamlined or anything in-between: you can be the best version of yourself with built in fitness and activity tracking, to get the most out of your workout.

Use voice commands to help keep your life on track. Search the web, check the weather, or set alerts for emails, calendar notifications and so much more. With countless options, your watch face and strap adapt to any and all occasions on your calendar.

Fossil Q Founder Smartwatch

Stay connected with display notifications for texts, calls, emails, and app updates. Control your music on your favorite music player through Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud, GooglePlay, iTunes, or Apple Music.

With built-in activity tracking, you can track your everyday accomplishments including steps, distance, and calories burned.

Fit your style with customizable watch faces and interchangable straps – compatible with all Fossil brand 22mm straps. Use the built-in microphone and speaker to do a variety of tasks on your Android smartwatch using just your voice.

Connectivity: Bluetooth® Smart Enabled / 4.1 Low Energy, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n – Powered by Android Wear™

Stay charged for up to 1 day (based on usage) with the wireless conductive magnetic charger. Compatible with Android™ Devices 4.3+ and iOS 8.2+ / iPhone 5+.

Orbo Kids Bluetooth Phone Pairing Smartwatch

Introduce your child to the basics of timekeeping while providing endless entertainment with Orbo’s kid-friendly touchscreen smartwatch. Ideal for use in the home or on the go, this multifunction gadget promises tons of educational interaction.

Inquisitive little minds will love the device’s instructive games, built-in camera, talking hippo, time master and other fun, stimulating activities that will keep them occupied for hours. Let your little one discover the wonder of time with this exciting – and super adorable – personal gadget!

The smartwatch displays both analog and digital clock faces, which, along with the alarm and stopwatch features, teach your child the fundamentals of reading time. With a simple tap, the penguin ‘Time Master’ reads hours/minutes aloud.

With 3 games that sharpen memory, reflex and musicality, and other fun features such as the speech-imitating hippo, photo effects, voice recorder, calculator, and more, endless hours of education and entertainment are just the beginning.

Motorola Moto 360

Voice control makes it easy to get things done, even when your hands are full. Send texts, set a reminder, or check the weather, all with just your voice. Moto 360 displays timely notifications based on where you are and what you’re doing, so you always stay on track. Weather, flight alerts, traffic and more, all powered by Android Wear.

Moto Body is the built-in activity tracker that inspires a healthier lifestyle. Track your steps, calories and heart rate throughout the day. Then receive coaching advice to help you reach your fitness goals.

Ambient mode keeps always-on apps like maps, fitness, or to-do lists running in full screen, helping extend battery life while keeping your details at the ready. Go beyond ;) and draw emojis directly on your Moto 360 screen with your finger, from coffee cups to to a thumbs-up.

LG Watch Urbane Wearable Smart Watch

With LG Watch Urbane, a stainless steel body and narrow bezel plus 22mm interchangeable leather strap are authentically classic touches that belie its advanced electronics. And with an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, this is sure to become your favorite go-to smart timepiece for wearing almost anywhere.

The vivid P-OLED display is full-color only when actively viewing it. In standby mode, the display goes dark to help the battery last longer between charges. When you need information – while running, navigating or grocery shopping for example – always-on apps keep the display from going dark.

Scrolling the LG Watch Urbane display is as easy as a simple flick of your wrist, and you can use voice commands to send texts, check scores, and more. Plus, with a Wi-Fi connection you can connect to your phone via the cloud to receive alerts – even when your phone isn’t with you.

Emporio Armani Hybrid Smartwatch

The dynamic styling of Emporio Armani meets technology with a new collection of Hybrid Smartwatches, featuring the brand’s most coveted designs with the added benefits of today’s wearable technology.

Set your timepiece to deliver subtle filtered alerts for calls, texts, or other important smartphone notifications.

A coin cell battery means your watch never needs charging. The battery lasts up to six months. Automatically tracks your everyday accomplishments including steps, distance, and calories burned. Automatically monitor sleep duration and quality.

Connect to your smartphone’s music to start, stop, skip, or go back with the simple press of a button. Set and receive scheduled alerts from your timepiece.

Wirelessly syncing to your mobile device, your timepiece is always accurate, and automatically converts time zone and date as you travel.

http://j.mp/2reru8n via Design your way URL : http://j.mp/2arS45r

[jamiekturner]

Best smartwatches of 2017

With so many cool and luxurious smart watches around, picking a good one for you will be tough work.

There are a number of criteria to consider before investing your money, including battery life, a solid operating system, or extras such as fitness functionalities.

To make the challenge even more complicated, your smart watch is also supposed to match your style, and resemble your personality.

There are many people who still have no idea how smart watches work, and the reasons are pretty self-explanatory. These fancy gadgets are not an absolute necessity, and they’re still more expensive than most of us can afford.

The price, nevertheless, only justifies the plethora of advanced capabilities, including the chance to exchange messages, access information, or track improvement. Basically, a smart watch can cover for most of what your phone is doing, while completing your elegant looks at the same time.

Certain popular smart watches are even used to make and receive calls, but that’s not the main rationale behind them. What they intend to do is to allow quick access on improvements and notifications, so think well whether you actually need one.

Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch

Get fit in style with Fitbit Blaze—a smart fitness watch that helps you maximize every workout and every day. With advanced technology in a versatile design, this revolutionary device is built to track your workouts, monitor your performance stats, and gauge your progress.

PurePulse continuous heart rate and multi-sport modes enhance every exercise, while next-generation features like Connected GPS and FitStar workouts on your wrist help you take your fitness to the next level. All-day activity and sleep tracking, smartphone notifications and Reminders to Move help you stay on top of your day.

And interchangeable band and frames and customizable clock faces on the hi-res color touchscreen let you personalize your style for every occasion. With all this and more, Fitbit Blaze has everything you need to reach your goals, packed into one sleek timepiece.

Huawei Watch Black Stainless Steel

Inspired by the classic designs of luxury watches, with cutting-edge technology, the Huawei Watch redefines what we’ve come to expect from a smartwatch. Developed as a statement piece rather than a smartphone for your wrist, it combines elegant craftsmanship with Android Wear to deliver a new high-end standard for the category. It’s smart, redefined.

Created using sophisticated materials like a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, cold-forged stainless steel cases, and fine leather and stainless steel bands, the Huawei Watch’s style is just as advanced as its functional features.

Featuring iOS and iPhone compatibility, a compact design, and the sharpest screen of any smartwatch in the market, the 400×400 display delivers notifications, music from your phone, and more than 4,000 apps you can personalize and explore without being tethered to your phone – keeping you connected rather than distracted.

Whether you’re getting ready to walk down the aisle, hike up a mountain, or step into an important meeting, the Huawei Watch seamlessly fits any situation while tracking your movement with built-in heart rate monitoring and exercise pattern recognition.

Pebble Time Steel Smartwatch for Apple/Android Devices

Pebble Time Steel keeps you connected to the things that matter most, and look great doing it. Its unparalleled battery lasts up to 10 days between charges, and its bright always-on display never keeps you waiting.

Manage notifications, calendars, calls, music playback, and more – right from your wrist. Includes Pebble Health, a built-in activity and sleep tracker with daily reports and weekly insights. Buttoned up or dressed down, it’s Time well-spent. Pebble Time Steel works with both Android and iPhone smartphones.

It’s a watch, not a phone. Whether you’re managing your packed weekly schedule, or getting out of town for a long weekend, a full charge powers you for over a week.

Apple 42mm Smart Watch

Stay connected in style with the 2015 42mm Apple Watch Sport, which comes with a rose gold anodized aluminum chassis and a stone fluoroelastomer Sport band. Designed for users looking for the next generation of connectivity, Apple’s Watch moves your iPhone’s apps and functions to your wrist so you can do more while leaving your phone in your pocket.

Apple Watch Sport connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth 4.0 and displays notifications, apps, and more on its 1.5″ display. It can also connect directly to the Internet thanks to 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. The internal battery lasts for up to 18 hours of normal use and is recharged with an included inductive magnetic charger.

Pebble Time Smartwatch

The best interface for a great smartwatch is time. Pebble Time’s new timeline interface respects that busy people want to Get. Things. Done. Pebble Time lets you act now, reflect on the past, and look into the future.

With a new color e-paper screen and a thin, comfortable ergonomic design, the Pebble Time smartwatch is the companion you’ll want with you every moment, every day.

With battery life up to 7 days, Time is always ready and waiting. Whether you’re into sleep tracking or trail trekking, live life unplugged without stressing about the next charge.

Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch

Featuring a classic circular design with a rotating navigation bezel and a genuine leather strap, the Samsung Gear S2 classic smartwatch provides quick and easy access to notifications, apps, and widgets.

Track your fitness, check sports scores, skim restaurant reviews, and more. The Gear S2 classic is compatible with most Android and iOS devices (1) so you can sync your devices and get more out of every moment of your day.

The Samsung Gear S2 classic gives you access to all your important information in a classic circular design. Easily locate your favorite apps around the perimeter and just rotate the bezel to navigate through your notifications, apps, and widgets.

The 360 x 360 pixel AMOLED touchscreen of the Gear S2 classic offers crisp images and sharp text on a compact 1.2-inch display.

ASUS ZenWatch 3

ASUS ZenWatch 3 follows the tradition of fine watchmaking with its luxurious,detail-focused design and construction from high-quality materials. It provides timely information at a glance, offers a wealth of useful features that make your life easier, and features a customizable design so you can create your own perfect watch.

Innovative quick-charging technology keeps ASUS ZenWatch 3 on your wrist longer, so you can always stay informed and be in the moment.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which consumes 25% less energy than the previous Snapdragon 400 processor for dramatically improved battery life. An all-new Eco Mode instantly enabled with one click of the watch’s bottom button extends battery life by more than 200% and turns off networking and notifications for times when you do not want to be disturbed.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 also features exclusive HyperCharge technology that provides industry-leading charge times just 15 minutes to reach a 60% charge and a convenient magnetic charging connector that snaps into place automatically.

Motorola Moto 360 2nd Gen.

All healthy relationships need space. Including the one with your phone. That’s why there’s the new Moto 360. It streamlines your mobile life by delivering the information that matters to you, giving you more time to do the things you love.

With designs made specifically for men or women, it’s easy to find the color, size, and style that fits you best. Because you deserve choice when it comes to what you wear on your wrist.

Updates, not interruptions: Stay connected and up to date by getting messages, news, weather, and more without constantly having to check your phone.

Men’s and women’s collections: Choose from modern designs made specifically for men or women, each one precision-crafted and built to last.

Classic round design: With edge-to-edge glass and an exceptionally thin bezel, you see more all the way around.

Martian Watches Notifier Smartwatch

Don’t be fooled into thinking the Martian Notifier’s small screen means small features. This connected timepiece, one of the most highly-recognized smartwatches on the market today, is loaded with some of the most advanced functions of any smartwatch available, built into an always-on classic design.

Not a flat screen image of a watch; but a beautiful, award-winning analog fashion watch.

Getting alerts from hundreds of Apps is the number one use of most smartwatches. Most use the same vibration for every alert, forcing you to always look at your watch to see what alert just arrived. Instead, Notifier uses vibration patterns so you know the type of alert without looking.

The unique “tap glass” feature lets you bring the alert back within 5 minutes, and you can scroll through past messages anytime. Plus much more!

Michael Kors Smartwatch

Michael Kors Access Bradshaw gold-tone-and-pave display smartwatch. Powered by Android Wear, this smartwatch connects with your favorite apps and is compatible with Apple and Android smartphones. With built-in fitness tracking through Google Fit, you can view calories burned, steps and distance traveled.

Receive notifications, such as calls and alerts, at a glance as well. Fully personalize your watch by selecting or customizing the watch face of your choice and changing out the straps to match your activity or look.

With an always-on display, customize your notifications to see texts, emails, reminders and more – all in real time. Whether your style is classic and glamorous, sporty and streamlined or anything in-between: you can be the best version of yourself with built in fitness and activity tracking, to get the most out of your workout.

Use voice commands to help keep your life on track. Search the web, check the weather, or set alerts for emails, calendar notifications and so much more. With countless options, your watch face and strap adapt to any and all occasions on your calendar.

Fossil Q Founder Smartwatch

Stay connected with display notifications for texts, calls, emails, and app updates. Control your music on your favorite music player through Spotify, Pandora, Soundcloud, GooglePlay, iTunes, or Apple Music.

With built-in activity tracking, you can track your everyday accomplishments including steps, distance, and calories burned.

Fit your style with customizable watch faces and interchangable straps – compatible with all Fossil brand 22mm straps. Use the built-in microphone and speaker to do a variety of tasks on your Android smartwatch using just your voice.

Connectivity: Bluetooth® Smart Enabled / 4.1 Low Energy, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n – Powered by Android Wear™

Stay charged for up to 1 day (based on usage) with the wireless conductive magnetic charger. Compatible with Android™ Devices 4.3+ and iOS 8.2+ / iPhone 5+.

Orbo Kids Bluetooth Phone Pairing Smartwatch

Introduce your child to the basics of timekeeping while providing endless entertainment with Orbo’s kid-friendly touchscreen smartwatch. Ideal for use in the home or on the go, this multifunction gadget promises tons of educational interaction.

Inquisitive little minds will love the device’s instructive games, built-in camera, talking hippo, time master and other fun, stimulating activities that will keep them occupied for hours. Let your little one discover the wonder of time with this exciting – and super adorable – personal gadget!

The smartwatch displays both analog and digital clock faces, which, along with the alarm and stopwatch features, teach your child the fundamentals of reading time. With a simple tap, the penguin ‘Time Master’ reads hours/minutes aloud.

With 3 games that sharpen memory, reflex and musicality, and other fun features such as the speech-imitating hippo, photo effects, voice recorder, calculator, and more, endless hours of education and entertainment are just the beginning.

Motorola Moto 360

Voice control makes it easy to get things done, even when your hands are full. Send texts, set a reminder, or check the weather, all with just your voice. Moto 360 displays timely notifications based on where you are and what you’re doing, so you always stay on track. Weather, flight alerts, traffic and more, all powered by Android Wear.

Moto Body is the built-in activity tracker that inspires a healthier lifestyle. Track your steps, calories and heart rate throughout the day. Then receive coaching advice to help you reach your fitness goals.

Ambient mode keeps always-on apps like maps, fitness, or to-do lists running in full screen, helping extend battery life while keeping your details at the ready. Go beyond ;) and draw emojis directly on your Moto 360 screen with your finger, from coffee cups to to a thumbs-up.

LG Watch Urbane Wearable Smart Watch

With LG Watch Urbane, a stainless steel body and narrow bezel plus 22mm interchangeable leather strap are authentically classic touches that belie its advanced electronics. And with an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, this is sure to become your favorite go-to smart timepiece for wearing almost anywhere.

The vivid P-OLED display is full-color only when actively viewing it. In standby mode, the display goes dark to help the battery last longer between charges. When you need information – while running, navigating or grocery shopping for example – always-on apps keep the display from going dark.

Scrolling the LG Watch Urbane display is as easy as a simple flick of your wrist, and you can use voice commands to send texts, check scores, and more. Plus, with a Wi-Fi connection you can connect to your phone via the cloud to receive alerts – even when your phone isn’t with you.

Emporio Armani Hybrid Smartwatch

The dynamic styling of Emporio Armani meets technology with a new collection of Hybrid Smartwatches, featuring the brand’s most coveted designs with the added benefits of today’s wearable technology.

Set your timepiece to deliver subtle filtered alerts for calls, texts, or other important smartphone notifications.

A coin cell battery means your watch never needs charging. The battery lasts up to six months. Automatically tracks your everyday accomplishments including steps, distance, and calories burned. Automatically monitor sleep duration and quality.

Connect to your smartphone’s music to start, stop, skip, or go back with the simple press of a button. Set and receive scheduled alerts from your timepiece.

Wirelessly syncing to your mobile device, your timepiece is always accurate, and automatically converts time zone and date as you travel.

from Web Development & Designing http://www.designyourway.net/blog/tech/best-smartwatches-of-2017/

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Getting Ready for Your Trip to Mars

New Post has been published on http://fandangly.com/travel/getting-ready-trip-to-mars/

Getting Ready for Your Trip to Mars

Things are looking up! You’ve been born into an era where a trip to Mars might be in your future! Everyday, we get closer and closer as a civilization to someday being able to colonize the red planet. These are truly extraordinary times we’re living in. Here’s how it might go down, and how you can prepare for your trip to Mars.

The Preparations for a Trip to Mars Are Underway

Mars One is a concerted effort to “establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.” Mars One consists of two entities: the Dutch not-for-profit Stichting Mars One (Mars One Foundation) and Swiss publicly trading Mars One Ventures AG. These are professional, global entities that oversee the Mars One Foundation, committed to procuring funding, choosing and training the crews, building the community around the goal, and basically overseeing everything.

What’s the Plan?

The plan is to send unmanned craft with equipment to Mars so that an inhabitable settlement area can be set up. This will be done with the help of global aeronautical experts (Elon Musk, probably), as well as advisors and the most elite, intelligent people from around the world. There are a lot of details to be ironed out as you can imagine, but there is a definite plan, and things are in the works. After they have all the beds made up there, they’ll come back to get y’all.

Who’s Going on This Trip to Mars?

Mars One is currently taking applications for the trip to Mars. Obviously, not everyone will be able to go. There will be a vetting process. But so far, over 78,000 people have submitted their applications for a trip to Mars with Mars One. This is exciting, because the Dutch company that’s been taking applications is also vetting applicants who want to become trained astronauts. So if your astronaut application to NASA went unnoticed, this is your second chance!

How Can You Prepare for the Trip to Mars?

Naturally, the trip to Mars project is in need of very special people with special qualities, features and traits. Couch potatoes need not apply!

Once on Mars, there will also be other criteria that are needed, like skills and education. Let’s go through some ways that you can prepare for the trip to Mars.

1. Be Prepared to Procreate

Look, colonizing an entire planet is no walk in the park. If you’re the type who needs to be wined and dined before you “give whatcha got to give” – well, let’s just say things need to move a bit faster on the red planet. As an official Colonizer, it may be your DUTY to “mate to procreate.” Who knows, they might even come up with some rules about the whole thing. There might be a “handmaiden” situation, or some multiple mates allowance – who knows? What happens on Mars, stays on Mars.

2. Get Fit

When you get to Mars, you’ll be expected to pitch in. That might mean lifting heavy stuff, moving crap around or carrying things for long distances. After all, you won’t have your pickup truck to rely on. So now’s the time to get really fit. Think about doing work on resistance training, endurance and some power lifting to work those large muscle groups. Your life might depend on your strength up there. Don’t take the chance that you’ll come up short in the strength department!

3. Study, Study, Study

Odds are, they won’t have the internet on Mars. At least not for a while. If you’ve been relying on the internet for every move you make – cooking, putting the cap back together on your gasoline can, or fooling around with Photoshop to make you look thin, you’d better get over your reliance on the world wide web. Up there, you’ll have to rely on good old-fashioned know-how and ingenuity. You know. What you used to have before you became a video gamer. It’s okay. Two weeks on Mars will get you back to feeling yourself again. In the meantime, bone up on everything you think might be helpful on Mars. Like growing potatoes, or how to get water out of thin air, or digging up radio isotopes (oh wait, that’s from that movie, The Martian). Anyhoo, all that stuff will definitely come in handy.

4. Lighten Up

If you think airline luggage allowances are stingy, just wait till you ride a rocket to Mars. There won’t be room for most of the comforts of home you’ve come to cherish. You’ll probably have to say goodbye to most of your wardrobe for starters. Goodbye, stilettoes. See ya later, pashminas. Later days, comfy bathrobe. Keep those camisoles, though, ladies (see item 1, above).

Well, your trip to Mars is gonna be one hell of an adventure. If you haven’t signed up yet, be sure you do. We probably won’t see you again, so make sure you leave a forwarding constellation. And don’t forget to write!