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markftmingi · 5 years ago

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sit down! - part one

sit down! masterlist

summary: the king of south korea hires you personally to become the prince’s personal bodyguard after he receives death threats but still continues to life his life dangerously.

pairing: prince!badboy!jaehyun x bodyguard!badass!reader

warning(s): mentions of smoking/drug use, gang activity, and some other crime stuff, swearing, jaehyun’s an asshole tbh.

a/n: this was almost a yugyeom story on wattpad over a year ago (excuse any typos pls) but i’ve been in my jaehyun feels recently. i also really want to make this a social media au🥴. also this is my basic “y/n” kind of story but like “y/n”’s gang code name is siren, cause like you lead men to their deaths, get it?

you took a deep breath before knocking on your boss's office door. his right hand woman, joy, opened the door with a smile.

"miss siren, he's been expecting you," she bowed politely.

you bowed back, "you can call me by my real name you know... i've known you for most of my life."

joy blushed slightly but before she could say another word, your boss interrupted.

"she was instructed to call you miss siren and she will do as such,” he ordered as you sat in the chair across from him.

"whatever you say, yuta," you said mockingly, "what's my job now?"

"you were hired by someone to keep his son out of trouble. his son has a pretty bad record: fighting, smoking, drug use, gang activity, sleeping around frequently, and the list goes on. your job is to make sure that he never does anything like this again... he has a major reputation to manage. he'll be disowned if he doesn't."

"okay... and how am i going to do that?" you questioned.

"you'll be living with him, watching his every move. he lives in seoul palace in south korea." he said sliding the case files over to you.

you raised an eyebrow, "seoul palace? who is he? the prince?"

yuta let out a small laugh, "yes, actually."

you held back the urge to scoff. what kind of prince doesn't respect his father –the king– enough to listen to what he says? especially if it's for his own good. if he keeps up the recklessness, he'll be dead by 25.

"a prince... needs me... to babysit him so that he doesn't get into anymore trouble?" you said slowly to make sure that yuta wasn't losing his mind.

he gave you a hard look, "a prince with a really rich king father that's willing to pay us 500,000,000 yen to babysit him so that he doesn't get into anymore trouble. the prince has been receiving death threats too and he just continues the recklessness.”

500,000,000 yen? that’s nearly 5 million dollars... you could do a lot with that kind of money. you could retire with that kind of money.

"okay, deal."

"great because i already had joy pack your bags and call the jet to south korea. your flight departs in less than an hour." yuta smiled brightly as your face dropped.

although he wasn’t family, yuta was all you had left. he was more of a relative than your boss. it was his father’s company before he took over. his father raised you to obey every single word that came out of his mouth and keep your guard up at all times. sometimes yuta could overstep his boundaries but hey, at least you were getting paid and weren’t an orphan anymore.

you sighed before standing up, taking the files with you. joy followed you out of the office and into her car.

"miss siren, the jet takes off in..," she glanced at her phone, "roughly 40 minutes."

you nodded, "you packed everything i needed?"

"i got most of your clothes, toothbrush and other necessities, your laptops and chargers, and your favorite weapons. the usual things i pack." joy explained as she drives.

you nodded once more before opening your client's file.

name: jung jaehyun (sometimes goes by yoonoh)

nationality: korean

birthday: february 14, 1997

zodiac sign: aquarius

height: 180 cm (5’11")

weight: 63kg (138 lbs)

blood type: A

hobbies: piano, basketball

languages: korean, english, and some japanese

as you continued to read his file, you couldn't help but to want to laugh. the way yuta talked about jaehyun made him sound like public enemy number one. he seemed like a normal man... until you got to his police reports:

seven charges of aggravated assault, four charges of drug possession, two DUIs, and three charges of theft. all of which was pardoned because he was the prince. you didn’t get why the prince himself would do anything of these things. jaehyun could have anything he wanted at anytime but he was acting out.

"he's handsome." joy smirked slightly as she pulled up to the airport.

you looked back up at his picture. she wasn't lying. jaehyun was gorgeous. definitely has the looks of a prince. she laughed once she caught you staring at the picture.

"true, but not happening."

"i'm just saying, y/n - i mean siren. he's handsome, you're beautiful. i saw his friends' profiles too. they all looked like pieces of heaven. something is bound to happen." she said teasingly.

you rolled your eyes as you got out the car, "no romance, no relations. besides he's a prince. he probably acts like he has a stick up his ass."

“you act like you have a stick up your ass too sometimes. maybe he can take it out for you,” joy laughed as you slammed the car door shut and walked away. the jet ride from osaka international airport to seoul, south korea was only about two hours, so you took the time to rest up for what awaits you.

_______________________________________________________

when you got off the jet in seoul, you weren’t expecting four men to pick you up from the airport. nor were you expecting to be riding in a limo. you usually didn't talk much when you were working but this awkward silence was killing you and you think the other men knew it too.

"so how long have you been working under mr. nakamoto?" the man on your right questioned, trying to break the ice.

"majority my life basically."

he turned to you with wide eyes, "how?"

"well, it's the family business. i’m not blood family but they adopted me in. from the time you're able to walk, you're trained to fight. you don't actually work serious jobs until you go through all the training."

"when did you get your first serious job?"

"i had just turned eleven,” you stated.

the man didn't say anything after that and you were relieved. you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding as you all drove to a gate. as if expecting you, the gate slowly opened. you’d been to korea on other jobs before but you never saw this palace before. the building was tall and stretched for yards. it was surrounded by various ponds and small gardens. guards with guns were in a line at the front door. you adjusted your backpack straps as you walked through the main door. the palace was rather modern looking from the old architecture on the outside. it looked like it could house hundreds of people. when the door shut behind you, two women and two men rushed to greet you.

"welcome back, mr. kim!" they all chorused as they bowed slightly.

"staff. this is siren, don’t ask for her real name. she's head of security over jaehyun along with johnny and taeyong. she'll be living here for awhile. treat her with respect." the man you spoke to in the car explained. guess he was addressed as mr. kim.

"yes, mr. kim. welcome, miss siren." they chorused and bowed once again.

do they practice being in synchronization like that?

"uh, thanks." you mumbled, adjusting your bag straps again.

you heard a door open, followed by seven men jogging down the stairs. all seven pairs of eyes locked on you.

"oh don't tell me she's the one who's going to be keeping jaehyun out of trouble," one of them said as a smile grew on his face.

five out of the seven started laughing. something you didn’t take lightly. you didn’t like being laughed at or taken as a joke.

"i'm trained in eight styles of fighting, i have a perfect aim with the gun on my hip, and a few other skills that you'll quickly find out if you laugh at me again." you said calmly.

that shut all of them up. mr. kim gasped, sending an elbow into your side. you didn't flinch at all.

"this is siren and yes, she'll be assisting johnny and taeyong in keeping jaehyun out of trouble which includes limiting the visits of the four of you. siren, this is jung jaehyun, the prince of this kingdom. these are his friends – dong sicheng, prince of china. huang xuxi, prince of hong kong. wong kunhang, prince of macau. chittaphon leechaiyapornkul, one of the princes of thailand. they may be princes but only sicheng acts like it." mr. kim said, giving them a fake smile.

one of the seven came up to you, "i'm sorry for kunhang's comment earlier, i'm johnny– the head of security, and that’s taeyong, other head of security. you can call him ty though." johnny introduced himself and taeyong, holding out his hand.

you shook his hand shortly. joy was right about his friends... they all looked amazing, especially the one locking hands with you. mr. kim looked between you and johnny with a shocked expression and you didn’t know why.

i made a mental note of each of their appearances so i could remember their names quickly. one of the most important things about being on a job was to take note of everyone around your client.

"i'm jaehyun, the one you'll be keeping out of trouble,” jaehyun said copying mr. kim's words.

they both glared at each other. the tension in the room was almost sickening.

"we're gonna go." taeyong announced before ushering the remaining boys to another part of the house.

"bye, siren!" sicheng smiled brightly.

i waved goodbye as they walked away.

"well, you got your wish, doyoung. i got a babysitter now and you ran my friends off again. you happy?"

"very happy."

"good, so get the fuck out." jaehyun said angrily.

you didn't know that much about the royal family but you were shocked. princes were supposed to be respectful or at least act like it. yet you could hear how much hatred jaehyun had in his voice.

mr. kim, doyoung as jaehyun called him, scoffed but looked at you, "siren, be careful. he's a tricky one," he stated before leaving.

you turned to look at jaehyun who was already staring at you.

"johnny really respects you."

you shrugged, "a lot of people do. what's your point?"

"he likes you for some reason and i don't know why and its bothering me."

"you're a big boy. you'll get over it."

jaehyun smirked, "yeah, i'm a big boy alright."

you rolled your eyes and walked past him. had to walk yourself into that pun, didn't you? you felt his eyes on your ass as he followed you up the long spiraled stairs.

"tenth door on the right is your room. next room over is my bedroom in case you get lonely."

ignoring him once again, you walked into your new room. it was huge: a king-sized bed with black silk sheets, dresser, nightstand with a flatscreen TV positioned on the wall. you took out your laptops and phones to charge them.

"why do you have two laptops and two phones?" jaehyun asked, reaching to pick one of the laptops up.

however, you grabbed him by the wrist before he even got the chance.

"don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you... that's rule number one. don't ask me anything business related or too personal. my job isn't to befriend you. my job is to keep you out of trouble, got it?" you asked angrily, “good, don’t make me tell you again.”

"you're so fucking sexy when you're angry." jaehyun whispered, staring at the grip you had on his wrist.

you rolled your eyes and let go of him, “it’s my job to keep you alive and out of trouble. why are you already making it hard for me?"

"didn’t they tell you how bad i was, baby?"

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my2phetaliaheadcanons · 3 years ago

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2p S. Korea

Name: Im Do-yun

Age: 17 human, 80 nation

Height: 5��8

Weight: 153 lbs.

Appearance: Just like his 1p, he has black hair that is short and one very long curl. His curls in the same direction as his 1p, it gets annoying sometimes because of how it makes it harder to tell the two apart.

Do-yun has black eyes and they sparkle like obsidian in the sunlight. It is really pretty when the various streetlights give his dark eyes a random pop of color. His skin is about a shade darker than his 1p. This comes from all the drills he does to stay in shape both physically and mentally. He is built like a soldier in terms of muscle shape and build.

Do-yun is usually seen in his military uniform. He wears it with pride and it allows him to get respect when meeting with his boss or any of the people that know of his existence. Sadly other nations do not seem to care much for the uniform.

When on missions though, Do-yun wears darker colors and more causal clothing making it easier to reach his target. Things like band t-shirts and loose jeans are the clothes he most often wears. In relaxation mood he is seen in military recruitment workout clothes. Things like a shirt with the words the division and branch of military are often written right across the chest of these shirts. This outfit is completed with a pair of sneakers.

Personality: This man is not known for giving up or taking crap lying down. Do-yun fights until the end to get his way and no nation will stop him for completing his duties. It does not matter how hard he has to fight, he will do it no matter the cost to him or to others. His pride and stubbornness will not allow him to back down on any front.

Do-yun is a pretty grumpy guy. He doesn’t joke or smile often. He instead carries a scowl and a glare. Some of his family joke saying that if he smiled once in a while he would gain sixty years to his life, but the joke usually backfires and he becomes even more grumpy. Usually snapping and saying how he isn’t grumpy.

Do-yun is known for sticking to a routine. No matter what is going on, he will maintain his routine. Going away on vacation, he has a routine to stay in shape and continue to sharpen his mind. A job taking to long, somehow he manages to complete his routine while in the middle of a fist fight. This behavior has actually helped him make a friend in 1p Germany. It scares some nations that those two get along.

Dead: Jin has gotten close.

Weapon: K5 pistol

Family: China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong

ETC: Despite being one of the younger nations, he has the attitude of a much older nation. He often is seen talking crap with and about nations that are much older and more powerful than he is. It is annoying to Jin, because of how young he is, but most of the Western nations could care less.

He takes his duties very seriously. Things like patrols and strategizing are things he enjoys. He may not be the best nation at it, but his own stubbornness has gotten him through a lot of battles.

He loves to play battleship. To Do-yun its allows him to have a less stressful and more age appropriate way of getting out some aggression and allows him to do something he loves. His bosses have tried to urge him to play games that are less about strategy and more about having fun, but those games have not held his attention.

#2p hetalia #2p headcanons #2p south korea #charactersheet

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thedcdunce · 6 years ago

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Batgirl

“I don't kill... but I don't lose, either.” - Batgirl

Real Name: Cassandra Cain

Aliases:

Black Bat

Kasumi

The Nothing

Gender: Female

Height: 5′ 5″

Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg)

Eyes: Blue/ Green/ Brown

Hair: Black

Abilities:

Peak Human Condition

Martial Arts

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Body Reading Ability

Investigation

Stealth

Weaknesses:

Dyslexia

Over-Reliance on Body Reading Ability

Equipment:

Batgirl Suit

Utility Belt

Shadow Belt

Batcycle

Batarangs

Universe: New Earth

Base of Operations:

Gotham City

Blüdhaven

Tibet

New York City

Hong Kong

Parents:

David Cain; father

Lady Shiva; mother

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Vigilante

First Appearance: Batman #567 (July, 1999)

Abilities

Peak Human Condition: Through continuous intense training Cassandra represents the greatest fighting weapon ever conceived. She possesses peak level strength, stamina, speed and agility comparable to the finest human athlete.

Martial Arts: Due to her lifelong training Cassandra has a master level knowledge of all fighting arts known and unknown and continues to learn with every new opponent she faces. She has also invented her own styles and techniques.

Dragon Style Kung Fu

The Falling Leaf Technique: A nerve pinch invented by Chinese monks in the 16th Century.

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Cassandra is schooled in all known and many unknown assassin techniques such as pressure points, killing techniques and stealth to name a few.

Body Reading Ability: Cassandra has the advanced ability to read body language enabling her to read what people are thinking and tell what they are going to do next before they do it. She has been shown able to read opponents far faster than herself, along with non-humans and even alien lifeforms once she is given a chance to learn their body language. This enables her to identify disguised and transformed people as well.

Investigation

Stealth: Due to her excessive training she is also a master of stealth.

Weaknesses

Dyslexia: Due to her training using the language centers of her brain to read body language, Cassandra has extreme dyslexia, making it very difficult for her to read and write.

Over-Reliance on Body Reading Ability: While a definite strength in combat, Cassandra's ability to read body language can work against her when she can't properly discern the intent of the opponent's actions based on body language. Generally this can be happen when an opponent is very good at disguising their intent, who can keep Cassandra distracted with subtle body language that could hint at many possible actions. In another instance, it could be that an opponent isn't thinking or focusing on their movements as they make them like when Cassandra tried to stop a gunshot from a cybernetically enhanced assassin but couldn't because his cybernetics took over the aiming for him independently of his movements. The last way in which this weakness manifests is when Cassandra is facing an opponent who is mentally unstable or ill. Such an opponent is simply too unpredictable to anticipate.

Equipment

Batgirl Suit

Utility Belt

Shadow Belt: During her time as Kasumi on the Justice League Elite, she wore a belt of Thanagarian origin that allowed her to transform into and travel intangibly as a living shadow. Kasumi mostly used this when the team was on under-cover missions as the metahuman gang member The Nothing, the shadow from covering even her Kasumi disguise.

Batcycle

Batarangs

History

Cassandra Cain is the fourth Batgirl. Born with the assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva as her parents, she was trained to become the perfect warrior. Her father deprived her of speech so she would learn movement and physicality as her first language. Batman adopted her into the Batman Family during No Man's Land, to replace Helena Bertinelli as Batgirl. Cassandra would eventually turn her Batgirl costume over to Stephanie Brown, and become a member of Batman Incorporated as Black Bat.

Birth

The daughter of David Cain and Sandra Wu-San, Cassandra Cain was conceived and trained from birth with the intention of creating the perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul. After many unsuccessful attempts to train children from birth in martial arts to make them inculcate it like a native language, David Cain, then a member of Ra's League of Assassins, decided the right genes were necessary to create this "Who Is All". With Ra's go ahead Cain searched for the perfect mother for this child, finding her in the Wu-San sisters of Detroit, who practiced martial arts with each other nearly every moment of their childhood in a type of sister's language. Cain sympathized with the younger sister, Sandra, when he noticed that she held back out of love for Carolyn. To "help" Sandra reach her full potential, Cain murdered Carolyn, then lured Sandra into an ambush by the League of Assassins, where he defeated her. Cain spared Sandra from death on the condition that she bear his child, and leave her for him to raise. Awed by the potential heights she could reach in her physical talents now that Carolyn was gone, Sandra agreed to Cain's bargain in order that she might go on to become the unstoppable force of nature known as Lady Shiva: creator and destroyer. Shiva's hope for her child was that she might one day grow to be the force that could stop her reign of destruction.

Childhood

Trained by her father to be the ultimate weapon, Cassandra was not taught to speak. Instead, he relied mostly on actions to communicate with her. Also, he cut her off from the outside world, only exposing her to anything or anyone other than him when absolutely necessary. As a result, the parts of her brain normally used for speech and language processing were trained so she could read other people's movements and body language to recognize their thoughts without verbal communication and predict, with uncanny accuracy, their next move in a fight. This also caused her brain to develop learning functions different from most, a form of dyslexia that hampers her ability to talk, read, and write.

When she was 8 years old, Cain decided his experiment had progressed far enough for him to test Cassandra's abilities in the real world and took her to a hit; the target being Faizul, a 'bookman' in Macau. At the time Cassandra had no idea what she was doing and believed it was only a game. After striking a deathblow, she "read" the target as he died, and saw death as he saw it.

In addition to scarring her emotionally, she realized murder, like her father's profession, was wrong, and she ran away.

No Man's Land

Cassandra spent the next nine years homeless, guilt- and fear-ridden as she traveled the world. Entering Gotham City at 17, Cassandra came to be of Oracle's agents in the No Man's Land of Gotham City. After saving Commissioner Gordon's life from her assassin father, she was given the Batgirl costume with the approval of both Batman and Oracle. She became Barbara's ward and in a sense, the Batman's adoptive daughter. As the No Man's Land wore on, the new Batgirl was introduced to the rest of the Bat-Family with varying levels of acceptance. Usually acting as the Batman's watchful eye, she was finally allowed to go on a solo mission when a petrol station needed guarding against a local gang. Near the end of No Man's Land, Batman noticed her death wish and forced her to make a decision between suicidal actions and self-preservation. She opted for self-preservation.

Batgirl

Despite her notable handicap of being unable to talk, read, or write, Cassandra did remarkably well. Capable of understanding others' intentions due to her ability to read body language she was a more than a capable listener, despite the fact she couldn't process their words or reply to them. It was this trait that made her one of the Batman's most loyal and trusted followers and helped her to survive when the Bat-clan became hunted by the Bloodhawks. Although the fact that she couldn't talk frustrated Barbara Gordon, she proved herself useful in other ways during a team with the spectral vigilante Ghost in tracking disappearing corpses. The running successes and final understanding of her mission as Batgirl allowed Batman to give her the privilege of running solo in Gotham City on the condition that she faced no 'costumed criminals'.

From going undercover in Madras with Batman to saving local heroes from the mob, Cassandra continued to impress as the new Batgirl. Especially when, despite Batman's warnings, she went face to face with a meta-human and won. She even managed to, despite her restriction to Gotham City, make it on the reserve member list of Young Justice.

But Cassandra's career was not the only thing that was growing. In the background a rift between Oracle and Batman was slowly emerging, as was the growing image of Batman as a father figure in Cassandra's eyes but the major development was David Cain's intentions to get his daughter back.

Batman learned about Cassandra's past when Cain sent a tape depicting Faizul's death to the Batcave. Nevertheless, Batman continued to accept Cassandra. Things became more strained when a run-away psychic altered Cassandra's mind so that she could understand words. As a side effect, she lost her ability to read body language and thus, her ability to fight properly. After she almost died while trying to protect the psychic from assassins, Batman took away her costume and began retraining her. The training remained ineffective, however, in part due to Cassandra dwelling on her lost ability instead of focusing on learning all over again, and Cassandra wanted to roam the streets, with or without the costume.

It was during of these 'unauthorized' vigilante outings that she encountered her mother. After Shiva attempted to kill a wealthy young girl, Cassandra intervened but was swiftly knocked out. After waking up, she immediately tracked Shiva down, despite having a dead arm, to find out why she spared. Shiva explained that she came to Gotham to lure her out and fight her, and left when she felt Cassandra was no longer a challenge.When she explained why her skills were lacking, Shiva recognized her Cassandra's missing skills and offered to train in a way that will allow her to possess them again. In exchange, they would fight to the death in a year. Knowing she had no chance of winning, but wanting her skills back, Cassandra accepted.

Duel to the Death

Cassandra began training immediately; going after every talented fighter she came across in order to gain more skills. After hearing how notorious the Joker was with the Bat-clan, she freed him in order to apprehend him again in order to gauge just how good he was. Batman and Oracle deduced that Cassandra had not given up her death wish and that it was due to guilt over her murdering Faizul. They began looking into what had brought the death wish back. Her reckless training was interrupted when an officer down was called over the frequencies. Batman's longtime ally and friend, Commissioner Gordon had been shot in cold blood.

It was during yet another training session in the Batcave that Cassandra first met her future friend Stephanie Brown.

It wasn't long until Batman gave her a cave of her own to operate from. Her training continued as she found even more powerful opponents like Bizarro, Supergirl and Shadow Thief during the Joker's Last Laugh, as well as numerous villains during the aftermath of Our Worlds at War. These activities had not gone unnoticed by Batman and Oracle. Knowing about Cassandra's match with Shiva but impressed by her progress, Batman allowed Cassandra to continue -- despite Oracle's protests. When the fateful night arrived that Cassandra had to face Shiva on the rooftops of Gotham City Barbara Gordon tried to talk her out of it. In response, she used a nerve strike to paralyze her, apologized and left to face her fate. Despite her best efforts, Shiva won the battle fairly easily, killing Cassandra with a shot to a nerve cluster near the heart. After the battle, within a temple devoted to her, Shiva brought Cassandra back to life. Shiva's price: A rematch. This time, with her death wish satisfied, Cassandra won and became the first to defeat Lady Shiva in martial combat. However, she spared Shiva's life, who vowed to return to kill Cassandra.

Unfortunately, the victory would be short-lived. Bruce Wayne was in jail on suspicion of murder. Cassandra arrived back at the cave in time to see Batman leave. Cassandra's resulting investigation revealed that Batman and Bruce Wayne were, in fact, the same person. Later she, along with Spoiler and Nightwing, discovered critical clues that pointed to Bruce Wayne's innocence and, eventually, incriminating evidence to the real culprit: David Cain. Her father safely behind bars and no battle-to-the-death with Shiva to train for, Cassandra focused on her crime-fighting career.

Tough Love

Batgirl makes a mistake due to stress, and Oracle insists that they vacation on a cruise liner. Superboy happened to attend the same cruise, and together they stop a terrorist named Black Wind. Superboy gives Batgirl his number, and Batgirl kisses him. Batgirl goes on date with Superboy in Smallville, but they end up deciding to just be friends. Batgirl and Batman work together when Doctor Death tries to auction his chemical weapons in Gotham. They pursue him to Tarakstan, where they're forced to ally with Black Wind. Doctor Death is shot, and Black Wind sacrifices his life to contain the chemical weapons released. Before leaving the country, Cassandra, imitating a local custom, professes her feelings for him and vows to keep it a secret.

Barbara Gordon lends her old costume to Cassandra, who briefly uses it on patrol, but decides she prefers her own costume. Later, Batgirl investigates a new drug called Soul. This leads her to the Lost Girls street gang, whom Cassandra fights, unaware that the leaders are all metahumans. Midway through the fight, she accidentally swallows a Soul pill. Because Soul's effects are determined by whether a person has a good or evil heart, she briefly hallucinates as her inner good and evil wrestle for control. When her evil side wins out, defeats the Girls under the Soul's influence. Later, Batgirl hunts and stops a serial killer named Doll Man. When she tries to stop a white slavery ring, but Batman shows up, angry because she ruined his sting operation. Batman tells Cassandra that she has been making too many mistakes recently, and forces her to suspend her activities as Batgirl. When Barbara tries to console her, Cassandra steals her Batgirl costume and takes to the streets. Investigating Soul again, she leads her to the scientist supplying the Lost Girls, who is revealed to be Doctor Death. Doctor Death doses Batgirl and Batman with concentrated Soul, and they fight to the death. When the effects wear off, Batgirl has a tender moment with Batman, and she explains that her father never let her display affection. Batman asks who she is loyal to, and Batgirl responds that she is loyal not to him but to their symbol. Robin takes Doctor Death into custody. Cassandra begins enjoying her new freedom, and Oracle takes her to a public garden. This garden is revealed to be a plot by Poison Ivy to recreate the Garden of Eden. Batgirl burns down Ivy's Tree of Knowledge, from which the entire garden grew from, stopping her.

War Games

Stephanie Brown became the new Robin when Tim Drake quit, and Batgirl teamed with her to take down the Penguin. Batman had Batgirl stage a public fight with Onyx in the Iceberg Lounge to improve Onyx's street credibility. Batgirl was later sent to protect Tim Drake when Scarab is looking to kill Robin. Later, Batgirl stopped a robot called Project Mars who was trying to destroy the public library. This revealed that her illiteracy was still a problem when she had trouble determining its self-destruct code. When Stephanie Brown was fired as Robin and told to give up crime-fighting, she approached Batgirl to thank her for their friendship.

Gotham became a war zone when the leaders of several crime syndicates were killed, leaving a massive vacuum. Batgirl was sent to deal with the Lucky Hand Triad in Chinatown when Kwan Lin was killed and later she helped Onyx and Orpheus put out a battle between the Hill Gang and the Latino Unified. Batgirl then pursued Alexandra Kosov of the Odessa Mob into an explosive firefight, but lost her. Tarantula fought Batgirl and rejected her offer to bring the Latino Unified under the protection of Orpheus. Batgirl confronted Spoiler and told her to get off the streets, but Spoiler did not listen. Soon after, Batgirl joined Batman and Nightwing to stop a shootout at Louis Grieve High School. This incident was the first time Batman was caught on film, which also revealed Batgirl's existence to the public.

Batman told Batgirl and the Bat-Family to push on when Commissioner Akins declared a curfew, and later he revealed to them that he has discovered that the gang war is one of his own contingency plans. Batgirl protected Leslie Thompkins against an attack by Lynx and the Ghost Dragons. Accidentally, Lynx was deadly injured by her own henchmen aiming at Batgirl.

Batgirl was placed on the perimeter at Robinson Park when Black Mask started a riot while posing as Orpheus. They're forced to fight every criminal in the city until the riot dispersed. Batman sent Batgirl to deal with Killer Croc and Suicide King and before leaving, she told Batman that Spoiler was responsible for the war games, but Batman already knew. Batgirl rescued Onyx, who was being tortured by Croc's henchmen. The final confrontation with Black Mask was at Gotham Clock Tower, where police were told to shoot vigilantes on sight. Batgirl helped put away Scarebeast and then escaped the law.

Fresh Blood

Following War Games, the Gotham City Police Department declared all costumed heroes illegal. Because of this and Nightwing being injured during the War Games, Batman suggested that he and Batgirl move to Blüdhaven, as well as financially supporting them. There, she quickly made a name for herself by defeating the Society of Evil. Deathstroke later took on a contract from the Penguin to kill Batgirl and decided to let his daughter Rose Wilson do the job instead. Cassandra beat Rose by critically wounding her and giving Deathstroke no choice but to get her medical attention. It was during fathers' day that Cassandra became infatuated with knowing who her mother was. Interrogating all the contacts she had she eventually found her mother to be Lady Shiva.

Justice League Elite

Cassandra joined the Justice League Elite, masquerading as an assassin named Kasumi to monitor the team for Batman and participated in several missions with them. Ultimately she helped them save the world from the Worlogog and a psychic impression of Manchester Black that had taken over the team's leader, Vera Black. She revealed herself to her teammate Coldcast to tell him that he was not a bad guy before he was accused of murder. She personally stood by him in clearing his name.

League of Assassins

Returning to Gotham City Cassandra discovered that not only had her adoptive family left on a year-long training trip without her but that Batman had left a recently cured Harvey Dent to protect Gotham in his stead. Despite this Cassandra still retained the Batgirl persona and patrolled Gotham while staying at Wayne Manor under Alfred's care. Due to Alfred's influence, Cassandra would gradually learn to read and write due to her attending ESL classes between her nightly activities. It was during one of these patrols, however, that Deathstroke managed to not only inject her with a controlled dose of his serum but influenced her enough to join him in a plan to form an army involving David Cain's 'daughters'. Slade's influence Cassandra gained control of a part of the League of Assassins, assassinating Nyssa al Ghul in the process, and became a member of his Titan's East. As leader of the League of Assassins she also -- again under Slade's control -- attempted to kill Kara Zor-el and masterminded the escape of David Cain from prison. She was cured when Timothy Drake injected her with an antiserum during a confrontation between the Teen East and the Teen Titans. However, suffering residual effects of the drug, she briefly worked for David Cain in attaining the drug Pheno before fully coming to her senses and returning to the Bat Family.

Redemption

Feeling partially responsible for what happened to her, Batman allowed her to return after a strict detoxification program and gave her a strict curfew. Nightwing, however, was not so accepting, regarding her with open hostility and suspicion. When Cassandra began seeking vengeance upon her father and Slade, she had to do it secretly due to their mistrust. Unfortunately, her activities eventually were found out, resulting in her clashing with Nightwing and stealing a Batwing from the Batcave. However, the ordeal resulted in Cassandra officially adopted as Bruce Wayne's daughter.

Outsiders

With Batman's invitation Cassandra began working in the Outsiders team and, despite some mistrust from some members due to her recent activities, was accepted as part of the team. When Batman suddenly disappeared without word or warning, the Outsiders went looking for him all across Gotham. Cassandra went to the Iceberg Lounge to question Penguin about Batman's whereabouts, but learned nothing from him and instead she was forced to deal with Johnny Stitches. Back at their headquarters, the Outsiders received a message from Batman, but Batgirl noticed that he wasn't the real man. However, she decided to play along with the impostor's plan, allowing REMAC to be injected with a virus that caused him to die in an explosion that left Thunder in a coma. Batgirl was blamed for the disaster and the Outsiders disbanded. Afterward, Batgirl went to the Batcave, where she learned that the attack was part of the Black Glove's plan and she decided to reform the Outsiders.

Batgirl began recruiting heroes across Gotham that matched Batman's unique abilities in order to create a team that could replace the missing Batman and the disbanded Outsiders at the same time, but Batgirl didn't expect that Nightwing would not agree with her plan. Nightwing was having trouble coming to grips with his adoptive father's possible death, but this would eventually sort out their conflict after Alfred intervened in a fight between the two. Cassandra handed over further creation of the Network to Nightwing.

When the third crisis hit, Cassandra was among the heroes responding to an Article X draft to combat the rise of Darkseid. Cassandra has also been seen assisting Supergirl and Wonder Woman fight an incarnation of the villainous Chang Tzu.

Cassandra was summoned along with many other heroes, to Gotham city after Batman's death. Together, they formed the Network, a team designed to maintain order in Gotham during Batman's absence. As part of this team, Batgirl teamed up with Huntress to stop Hugo Strange following Oracle's instructions. However, Batgirl was forced to fight Huntress to stop her from killing a criminal.

Batgirl Rising

Following the Battle for Batman's cowl, Cassandra began to feel emotional about her adoptive father's death, becoming disillusioned and passing her costume on to Stephanie Brown who becomes the new Batgirl. Cassandra leaves via the Gotham Airport, warning Stephanie not to follow her. After Batman's return, it was revealed that Cassandra had handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie, acting in accords with her mentor's order in the event of his death or disappearance and because giving over the role would help Stephanie become a stronger hero. Drake remained in contact with her, implying that she's been working as an anonymous agent in Batman's plans.

Shortly thereafter, Red Robin visited her in Hong Kong to exchange information on cases they were working with, on the crime boss and possible undercover cop Lynx and a mysterious assassin known as Cricket that Cassandra was searching for. Aside from the minor aid they offered each other, Tim had brought her a new costume with a Bat on it to replace the plain black costume she had been wearing ever since she gave her Batgirl uniform and name to Stephanie, telling her that it didn't matter if she called herself Bat-Chick, Knightbat, or Black Robin, she had a family. She thanked him but said that family is not always home as she left, giving no sign she'd use the new costume but taking it with her regardless. Drake noted that despite her not wanting to be Batgirl anymore, there was no sign she was being anything but true to herself and who she had wanted to become.

Batman Incorporated

Cassandra later becomes an operative of Batman Incorporated protecting Hong Kong, using the suit given to her by Tim and calling herself Blackbat. Bruce Wayne has her take a neo-heroin smuggling operation.

Black Bat traveled to Paris following a homing signal to Red Robin to the final site in a tournament of assassins, saving him from being raped by Daughter of Acheron, Ra's al Ghul's half-sister, and defeated the vigilante Promise while freeing Drake. Cassandra then proceeded to take a sword and impale Tim in the chest, triggering confirmation that she had won the tournament, being one of the few in history to do so and activating a system that would 'immortalize' her, by killing her with a laser. Red Robin saved her from the beam, and then revealed they had faked Red Robin's death using a trick sword, blood packets, and a stopped heart to fool the temple's automated systems. They attempted to examine the base, but although Tim conversed with the assassin tournament's creator, a previously unknown centuries old immortal, the base self-destructed before they could learn any close as to his location.

Red Robin came to Hong Kong to assist Black Bat in Cassandra's hunt for Cricket, but they were defeated by the Cricket, badly injuring Tim and promising to fight Cassandra 'For real' next time.

Fun Facts

In 2000, Cassandra Cain became the first Batgirl to get her own ongoing self-titled comic book series.

Cassandra has scars across her back from bullet wounds made by her father during her childhood training.

She tended to keep a rose around during her time as Batgirl.

She possesses high levels of serotonin.

Due to her upbringing, Cassandra was unable to understand words being spoken and used body language to understand what people were saying. Eventually, she gains the ability to process and attach meaning to words.

She possessed a death wish due to guilt over killing that resulted in nightmares and self-destructive behavior.

Her first spoken word was "Stop".

Her favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.

Cassandra's birthday is January 26th.

Her favorite tea is Assam.

Cassandra was called Who Is All by Lady Shiva.

Cassandra's first kiss was Conner Kent.

Cassandra was formally adopted by Bruce Wayne and now goes by Cassandra Cain-Wayne.

#batgirl #cassandra cain #black bat #kasumi #the nothing #batman family #batman inc.#batman inc #justice league elite #jle #League of Assassins #outsiders #titans east #Young Justice #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

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polhandmore · 2 years ago

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Electric racket

#Electric racket manual#

It is a nice addition to your garage tools and a perfect replacement for the manual socket wrenches. The AC Delco 3/8 cordless ratchet is a heavy duty power tool for breaking lose or fastening nuts and bolts that need more than 30ft-lbs of torque. PO Box, APO/FPO, Alaska/Hawaii, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahrain, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of the, Croatia, Republic of, Cyprus, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Guiana, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, US Protectorates, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U.S. Includes a durable molded plastic carrying case.

#Electric racket

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idiosynchronics · 7 years ago

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general information:

FULL NAME: severine liáng (surname is hc)

MAIDEN NAME: n/a

NICKNAME(S) / OTHER NAMES: none that she wants to remember or cares for

DATE OF BIRTH: unknown

GENDER: cis female

NATIONALITY: chinese

OCCUPATION: henchwoman

RELIGION: none

SEXUALITY: bisexual

DISORDERS: ptsd

appearance:

FACE CLAIM: berenice marlohe

HEIGHT: 5′7

WEIGHT: 130 lbs

HAIR COLOUR: black

EYE COLOUR: brown

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: macau sex trade tattoo on right wrist

background:

HOMETOWN: macau, china

CURRENT RESIDENCE: varies

FINANCIAL STATUS: n/a she lives off spectre

EDUCATION LEVEL: poor / self taught

FATHER: unknown (french)

MOTHER: qing shan (hc)

SIBLINGS: none

SPOUSE: none

CHILDREN: none

general information:

FULL NAME: hans anton gruber

MAIDEN NAME: n/a

NICKNAME(S) / OTHER NAMES: none

DATE OF BIRTH: september 19 1956

GENDER: cis male

NATIONALITY: german

OCCUPATION: mastermind, thief

RELIGION: protestant, non praticing

SEXUALITY: heterosexual

DISORDERS: megalomania

appearance:

FACE CLAIM: alan rickman

HEIGHT: 6′

WEIGHT: 180 lbs

HAIR COLOUR: dark brown

EYE COLOUR: brown

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: none

background:

HOMETOWN: munich, germany

CURRENT RESIDENCE: washington dc, usa

FINANCIAL STATUS: upper class

EDUCATION LEVEL: classical until high school

FATHER: friedrich gruber (deceased)

MOTHER: martha gruber (deceased)

SIBLINGS: franz gruber, brother (deceased)

SPOUSE: no (eleanor gottschalk)

CHILDREN: none

tagged by: @007-reporting & @zeitlosleben tagging: @threecardtrick / @perhiistoria / @vuulpecula / @vespxr / @valyrianflame

#muse {severine}#severine {about}#muse {hans gruber}#hans gruber {about}

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581ism · 3 months ago

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looking firmly AWAY from the prema drivers. i'm embarassed

#dino finishing behind someone who started last and slater trying an oscar baku overtake but ending up on the wall .......#well #macau lb

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crazy4tank · 4 years ago

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Ted Baker Q4 sales fall, warns of 5 million pound Brexit hit

New Post has been published on https://fashiondesigne.com/ted-baker-q4-sales-fall-warns-of-5-million-pound-brexit-hit/

Ted Baker Q4 sales fall, warns of 5 million pound Brexit hit

Huw Hughes

Thursday, 11 Feb 2021

Ted Baker has reported the 47 percent dive within Q4 revenue linked to shop closures during the UK’s 3rd lockdown.

The British style retailer said an along with footfall when its shops were temporarily open along with a drop in demand for coats and occasionwear during the Xmas period also took the toll on sales.

For your quarter ended 30 The month of january, directly operated e-commerce product sales edged up by two percent, which the company stated reflected enhanced payment strategies, improved trading mechanics plus increased investment in electronic media.

However , group web commerce sales – which displayed 63 percent of complete retail sales compared to thirty-three percent a year earlier — decreased one percent.

Inspite of the lacklustre online sales, the particular brand said web traffic had been up 17 percent whilst new customer growth improved 8 percent.

The dealer said a new e-commerce system, which will “significantly improve features and flexibility” is on the right track for launch at the end of Q1 2021.

Wholesale and license revenue decreased by forty-four percent, reflecting “cautious buying from store-based trustees because the beginning of Covid plus Brexit related shipping gaps towards the end of the period”.

Ted Baker warns more costs linked to Brexit

The particular company’s China, Hong Kong plus Macau JV regions carried on to see robust sales development, up 14 percent throughout the period, with Mainland Tiongkok up 33 percent.

The organization also warned of a five million pound hit in order to its full-year revenues associated with Brexit and new additional duty and shipping expenses, partially offset by a brand new customs warehouse capability.

TOP DOG Rachel Osborne described the particular quarter as “difficult plus heavily impacted by the Covid pandemic”, but said the girl was encouraged by the company’s “strong progress” on the transformation programme.

“Looking ahead, we are taking a cautious preparing approach and now assume that UNITED KINGDOM stores will remain closed till the end of May then a gradual recovery on the rest of the first half, ” she said.

Ted Baker’s net available liquidity in late the quarter was 199. 7 million pounds composed of 66. 7 million lbs of cash and 133 million pounds of financial institution facilities. The group did not pull on any bank amenities during the period.

Picture credit: Ted Baker

#news/business

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takeuwithme96 · 2 years ago

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Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Black EUC Coldwater Creek Long Skirt Petite Large.

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pierregasly · 6 years ago

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Please let Soph be okay please let her be okay please god please god

#it was horrifying #fucking horrifying #pressles musing #macau lb

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my2phetaliaheadcanons · 3 years ago

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2p Macau

Name: Cheung Wang Fernandes

Age: 22 human, 508 nation

Height: 5’7

Weight: 148 lbs.

Appearance: Cheung does not wear glasses, but he does share the golden eyes of his 1p. To many, the golden color of his eyes is like looking into a cat’s. They are sharp and dangerous looking. His smile has a similar feeling to it. His hair is long, dark and is pulled back into a ponytail. It reaches down to about his hips.

Cheung wears a changshen, but his is red with black pants. The changshen has a golden trim and his shoes are a solid black. Just a glance can tell a person that a lot of money went into the creation of his clothing. They are often made by Fabrizio and he pays top dollar to ensure that it looks nice. He wants to attract the eye and use it as a buffer for cheating. After all, how can he cheat if all these eyes are on him. These are also his formal and casual clothing choices. It allows him to carry that air of superiority.

When relaxing at home, he wears loose pants and a duangua. To him these pieces of clothing allow him to breathe and drop his guard enough to fully relax.

Personality: Never make a deal with this man. He can and will cheat you. Unlike many other nations that pride themselves on their word, Cheung values his ability to cheat. It isn’t anything personal, but after living for so long it is fun for him. Just like playing a game it allows him to get into people’s head and figure out the best way to maintain the lead.

He is suave. Just a glance from this man has been enough to make women swoon. He can back it up with sweet words and a gentle smile. He does remain loyal to the woman at the time they are around him, but if they start to stray, then he see no reason to maintain any loyalty. He enjoys having a woman on his arm while he plays against people in the casinos.

Prideful. Cheung believes that his skills have put him a head to the point that everyone else should just give up. Why go against him when he already has taken the deed to your house and your first born, at this pace all he has left to take is your soul.

Dead: This man has come close from his cheating

Weapon: His pipe and the various toxins he uses to blow at people and to hit people

Family: China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal

ETC: This man cheats. It doesn’t matter what the game is or what the competition is, he will find away to cheat you. It is impressive for a lot of people, because he will do it in such a way that you would never guess that he had cheated you.

He is a fantastic singer. Many of the Asian nations compare it to a siren’s song. Loud, sweet, and hypnotizing. If you find yourself hearing his song, you may walk toward him without realizing it.

He smokes. It is a habit he picked up from his time under Carlinhos. His long pipe stays by his side and is always ready for him. His bosses have gotten on to him for maintaining this habit, but he cannot bring himself to quit. It is also one of the ways he bonds with China.

He uses his pipe as a weapon because of its weight and the different toxins he mixes into his huff. The toxins no longer affect him and the weight/quality of his pipe allow for some basic combat.

#2p hetalia #2p headcanons #charactersheet #2p macau

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thedcdunce · 6 years ago

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King Snake

“I've lost the use of my eyes but I'm not blind!” - King Snake

Real Name: Sir Edmund Dorrance

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 2″

Weight: 220 lbs (100 kg)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Blonde

Abilities:

Martial Arts

Enhanced Senses

Stealth

Weaknesses:

Blindness

Universe: New Earth

Citizenship: British

Marital Status: Single

Occupation:

Soldier

Mercenary

First Appearance: Robin #1 (January, 1991)

Appearance of Death: Batman: Gotham Knights#49 (March, 2004)

Abilities

Martial Arts: King Snake is a master of several of the world's most deadly martial arts. He kills without conscience and has earned the title of "the most dangerous man alive".

Enhanced Senses: King Snake has turned his blindness into an asset, as it has allowed him to hone all of his other senses to an uncanny degree.

Stealth: He uses the dark as his weapon.

Weaknesses

Blindness: King Snake is blind, although he has largely made his vision impairment an asset rather than a handicap.

History

King Snake, real name Sir Edmund Dorrance, is a former mercenary turned ganglord. With his Ghost Dragons, he has operations in Hong Kong and Gotham City. He is a formidable martial artist, despite his blindness.

Mercenary

Edmund Dorrance is a British native who first distinguished himself in the Royal Artillery. He and some friends then became mercenaries, offering their professional expertise to various anti-communist rebels, making considerable money in doing so.

While in Santa Prisca, working with local rebels, he slept with a female rebel. Their camp was taken by surprise by government commandos, and Edmund was blinded by gunfire. He fled the country, leaving his lover for dead. The woman was actually alive and pregnant with Edmund's son. She and their child were imprisoned for Edmund's crimes against the Santa Prisca government. The child grew up in prison, becoming the villainous Bane.

Ghost Dragons

Edmund subsequently moved to Hong Kong and used the money he had acquired to start a double life. To the public, he was a Hong Kong businessman worth millions, with interests in shipping, banking, as well as electronics, while in secret he was one of the most feared men in Asia, a giant in the heroin trade. Taking on the name King Snake, he found willing soldiers in the Ghost Dragons, a Chinese youth gang of Macau, Kowloon, along with Hong Kong.

Although he had a strong power base in Hong Kong, he could not hope to stay when the island was handed over to China. He began extending his interests into France and the United States. He decided to lay waste to the city of Hong Kong rather than have it be soiled by falling into Chinese hands. His plans to release a Nazi-developed plague after leaving Hong Kong were foiled by Timothy Drake, assisted by Clyde Rawlins and Lady Shiva; both of whom wanted revenge against King Snake. After the attack of his headquarters in Hong Kong, much of his gang was captured and he was presummed dead at the hands of Lady Shiva.

However, it was later revealed that King Snake survived the attack and was merely left paralyzed due to a back injury.

After having his spine reinforced and regaining mobility, Sir Edmund moved to Gotham, where he wrestled control of the Chinatown district away from the Triad gangs, revealing himself to be alive, as well as initially focusing on Robin for revenge. Not long after, however, he lost power in a gang war, with his own Ghost Dragons rebelling and the Triad gangs sending assassins.

Kobra

King Snake survived and joined the international terrorist cult Kobra. He took advantage of a leadership struggle in that organization after the previous "Lord Naja-Naja" was disgraced.

Danny Temple was revealed to be the next in line for leadership. Temple was abducted and taken to a mountain lair of the cult. During the ceremony intended to invest Temple with leadership, however, King Snake rebelled, declared himself the next Naja-Naja and his followers healed his eyes in a Lazarus Pit the cult has access to.

His eyesight restored, Sir Edmund battled against Robin, while Kobra attempted to regain control of the Kobra cult. Luckily for Robin, Sir Edmund was unaccustomed to seeing, actually throwing his fighting style off. A vial of cobra poison used in the Kobra-cult initiation ceremony was knocked over. During his attempts to warn King Snake, Robin accidentally caused the villain to be blinded a second time. Robin and Danny Temple escaped, while King Snake was left trapped in the base with no escape.

After a significant amount of time, the villain Bane finally learned the identity of his father and tracked King Snake down to the mountain base. Sir Edmund had survived months alone, was barely alive and severely malnourished. Bane was emotionally conflicted during the reunion, apparently intending to kill his father several times, but did not. King Snake tried once more to seize control of the Kobra Cult, this time with his son at his side. After Robin and Batman intervened, however, Bane sided with them. In the resulting struggle, King Snake was knocked down a deep crevice, apparently dying.

Blackest Night

King Snake is one of the many villains raised from the dead in Gotham City to join the new Black Lantern Corps as zombies during Blackest Night. Along with Abbatoir, Deacon Blackfire, Blockbuster, Magpie, KGBeast, the Trigger Twins, and the Ventriloquist, he has received a Black Lantern Ring. He has been seen terrorizing the city, and tearing out the hearts of innocents to feed on their emotions and life force when they're feeling the most fear.

Fun Facts

King Snake has a steel-reinforced spine.

Edmund Dorrance has a snake tattoo on his chest.

#king snake #sir edmund dorrance #edmund dorrance #Black Lantern Corps #ghost dragons #kobra #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

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andreagillmer · 6 years ago

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The Charm of Fishing

Source: Michael Ballanger for Streetwise Reports 07/09/2019

Sector expert Michael Ballanger explores the analogies between fishing and investing.

As many of you know, I love to spend the summers exploring the thousands upon thousands of bays and inlets and coves that represent the Georgian Bay landscape. With the exception of a few boyhood jaunts around the Parry Sound area, I was not able to fully appreciate the grandeur of the Canadian Shield as it escapes its marine blanket while leaving behind thousand of large and small islands in its wake. Sightseers like the famous Group of Seven, whose artwork is almost exclusively the Georgian Bay vistas, would refer to them as islands or fresh water atolls but boaters young and old refer to them simply as “rocks,” and they are both feared and revered by anyone that has run aground, as propeller shafts and stern drives do not get mangled by islands or fresh water atolls.

Part of the majesty of the region lies in the perpetual presence of danger whenever one departs the well-marked channels and heads out into “the big water.” Summer weather on the Great Lakes and particularly northern Georgian Bay is fickle and it is immediate, in that a bright blue sky with calm seas during breakfast hours can become a roaring tempest by early afternoon, with winds that seem to know instinctively in which direction to blow your vessel. . .and know this: It is never away from rocks.

However, most seasoned mariners are well aware of weather conditions and are usually happily ensconced in a cove or bay, carefully free of any real or imagined threats from Mother Nature by the time storms arrive, not unlike seasoned portfolio managers, who are ever aware of changing economic or financial conditions that may produce a hurricane force impact upon their holdings.

Now, an integral part of the Georgian Bay boating experience lies in the remoteness of the anchorages to human interference and the uncanny ability of Mother Nature to ignore human expectation. One boater we know was in a tidy little cove hundreds of miles from the nearest highway. When they returning from a dinghy ride, they found a black bear rummaging the cockpit fridge (incensed that all he could find was beer). After they had shoo-ed the bear away and were exiting the cove, they noticed another boat attempting to take their spot. They quickly warned the others of the impending dangers via VHF radio, but just as boaters discount weather info at their own peril, this couple suffered the same fate as the former couple, and Yogi wound up with a double, taking much more than beer as its reward.

What makes northern Georgian Bay incomparable for me, though, is the fishing. In case you didn’t know, fishing is the #1 global recreational past-time, outranking international football (soccer), American football (football), golf, tennis, baseball and hockey. The reason is that the most populated country on the planet has a gene in the DNA of their citizens that forces them to drop a fishing line into any pond or lake or pool that exceeds one foot in depth. China has exported natural-born gamblers to Macau and Vegas (and to their central bank to manage exchange rates) but they have exported fifty times as many citizens to North America, whose major obsession is fishing. They line the busiest bridges and the most treacherous roads, crammed together elbow to elbow with lunch boxes at their feet, desperately trying to outcast and outmaneuver their counterparts so they can reel in a four-inch sunfish or a ten-pound carp.

However, before landing on the Chinese immigrants for their obvious love a sport, let it be known that I share their passion for angling. It is sport I have enjoyed, with my greatest conquest to date being in Lake Ontario (a 36.7 lb. chinook salmon in 1987), where the fish landed eleventh in the annual Lake Ontario Fishing Derby. (The tenth-place fish won its acquirer a $20,000 fishing boat, motor and trailer; my eleventh-place sammy got me a year’s supply of “Worm-Up,” worth $500.)

Fishing is a sport that attracts all types of people spanning all demographic and econographic strata. You find billionaires hunting tuna off the Great Barrier Reef, maniacally driven by the same endorphin that sent Huck Finn to the fishin’ hole instead of the schoolhouse. The thrill of catching a fish is on a par with hitting blackjack at the card table or having the winning card at your mother’s Wednesday night Bingo game. Fishing carries the same narcotic as horse racing, lotteries, Bingo, and, of course and without further adieu, investing.

As an example, my partner and I were circumnavigating Bone Island on the weekend, trolling the shoals and islets for bass, pike or, if very fortunate, pickerel (known as walleye to our American friends), and given that early afternoon in high heat and blazing sun is not always the most ideal angling time, we were proceeding with limited expectations, such that even a strike would be a success, let alone a landed fish. As we circled a small rock protruding from the water like an indignant waiter, I felt a tremor in the 10-pound test I was using and sure enough, it was “fish on.” The adrenalin surge of engagement had my mate feverishly reeling in her line as I battled was surely an eight-pound largemouth.

It is not unlike the rush of anticipatory excitement one feels when a junior mining stock, of which you are holding far too much, announces a 27-meter interval of economic-grade “anything,” after which you presume that it is surely the arrival of the next Voisey’s Bay or Olympic Dam or Hemlo. As tends to occur in the landing of a fish or the establishment of an economic ore body, the fish that had determined to chomp down on the flashy $20 Mepps was, alas, not the eight-pound leviathan for which I prayed, but rather a (perhaps) one-pound smallmouth with eyes obviously much larger than its stomach.

Furthermore, in the same manner than a PEA (preliminary economic assessment) can disappoint investors with an unexpected outcome, as my brave little fish approached the net of doom, it suddenly breached the surface and as if making a statement, spat the lure directly into the boat and disappeared beneath the wavesbut not before flipping me the middle fin in a gesture of “nice try, moron.” Four times that day we hooked a fish and four times they decided to elude the net and the boat, the result of which was an 0-4 record for the day.

We had all of the right tools and made all of the moves that, in the past, had worked, but at the end of the afternoon, we were frustrated, frazzled and fishless. Exactly as happens in the investment world, you can experience all of the excitement and satisfaction of proper research, funding and execution, but if the investment community decides to spit out the hook or break the line, you are doomed. The charm of fishing is like the charm of investing; you are in pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.

I post for comparison purposes two charts of gold futures continuous contract; the first was put up a week ago and the second is as of the close of business on Monday, July 8. You will note that the RSI (relative strength index), which traded up to nearly 90 in late June as gold touched $1,442, has now exited the overbought plus-70 zone from which every tradable correction since 2016 has occurred ( with the operative adjective being “tradable”).

While it is subject to conflicting interpretations from technicians far wiser than I, RSI in full retracement mode compels me to the sidelines, having jettisoned all leveraged ETFs and call options and 50% of the formerly untouchable GDX and GDXJ holdings. I was painfully early in the exit of the leveraged ETFs and call options, but near perfect in the sale of GDX and GDXJ and now enjoy the enviable task of buying them all back at lower levels.

It is only a week between the two charts but also notice that in addition to the continued drop in RSI from 68.48 to 61.27, the negative (bearish) MACD (moving average convergence-divergence) crossover is now complete, while volumes have become less robust than in the period immediately following the “breakout.”

Also, notice the red band at $1,350-1,375, which was three-year resistance and which is now the “absolutely critical band of support,” a close below which lies the dreaded “failed breakout.” These events, mastered beautifully in both planning and execution, are exceeded only by the illegality of their implementation. For years upon years, I have whined, screamed, pleaded and beseeched readers to avoid drinking the Kool-Aid of gold and silver market technical “breakouts,”and that only in the precious metals (PMs) do you sell breakouts and buy breakdowns. . .all for one simple reason: Both markets are rigged.

Further adding to the parade of red flags is, of course, the COT structure, where Commercials added yet another 26,616 net shorts, representing 2,616,000 ounces of undeliverable, phony, paper gold. This results in an aggregate short position of 286,822 contracts representing 28,682,200 ounces of that same fictitious metal, never the focus of a margin call and never, ever to be found in any vault or warehouse anywhere.

Now, the COT has rarely, if ever, been a useful timing tool but it has been an important barometer of trend changes looming on the horizon. The record net short was around 322,000 contracts, so that we are heading in that direction is concerning. Without the worry of capital constraints, the bullion banks are free to continue to pile on their aggregate short pile until demand by Large and Small Speculators (also referred to as “prey” by the Commercial trading desks) is exhausted. This creates a bid-stack vacuum into which the cretins simply nudge price for the express purpose of sending prices lower, which they cover and then make obscene profits with nary the report of as much as one trading day of losses in the past ten years.

The next chart carries the graphic images of how bottoms occur when the Large Spec positions converge with those of the Commercials, and vice-versa at tops. Those alligator jaws, so wide open as of Monday’s COT report, are destined to snap shut, but only after serious price declines. Now, there is the possibility of the signal failure in which the Commercials are forced to cover into rising prices, but my interpretation is that since we saw little if any capitulation from the shorts into the gap to $1,442, I see little evidence of a squeeze near term with prices now back below $1,400.

I would urge you all to view these charts and graphs in the context of assessing not just direction but, more importantly, probability of same. This is all in the interest of avoiding those $50-100/ounce drawdowns, the recovery of which are nigh on impossible in the course of a trading year. The data that currently presents itself demands cautionnot panic nor abandonment nor mass liquidation, but simple prudence in terms of position sizes and risk.

Just as in the world of successful investing, it is the charm of successful fishing that has kept me in the hunt for a return to free markets and fiscal sanity, both of which are absent from the 2019 landscape. Not that every time one has a fish on the line it should automatically result in a family of four being fed, but the fight should be a fair one. It is difficult enough to navigate free markets, but it is virtually impossible to survive the interference and interventions of, shall we say, “managed” markets, where all departments of government are openly hostile to gold and silver ownership and sponsorship.

Imagine battling an especially large fish in an epic angling affair lasting forty-five minutes, wherein the beast is inches from the net only to have an unknown entity suddenly emerge from the depths, severing your line. This is exactly what happens when the Commercials fill Large Spec demand with those phony, “paper” contracts, created magically out of thin air for the sole purpose of managing price. Buyers of the “paper” contracts have intent to acquire the physical by taking delivery which is a far cry apart from the intent of the bullion banks. They never deliver any physical metal and they almost always cover. They leap up and cut the lines of the Large and Small Specs with nary a tear being shed.

In the end, the rules of engagement in trading all markets should be the same irrespective of asset class; favoritism across asset classes destroys markets and creates unimaginable moral hazard. The last point of correlation I make is this: The singular most important attribute carried by the successful angler is patience. The ability to believe in your preparation and execution in both fishing and investing is matched only by your ability to wait diligently for the moment of opportunity. That requires patience, sometimes little, often much more, but never, ever without.

It is also a virtue the likes of which may be particularly valuable in the coming weeks and months; I pray it is not needed but fear that it may.

Originally trained during the inflationary 1970s, Michael Ballanger is a graduate of Saint Louis University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in finance and a Bachelor of Art in marketing before completing post-graduate work at the Wharton School of Finance. With more than 30 years of experience as a junior mining and exploration specialist, as well as a solid background in corporate finance, Ballanger’s adherence to the concept of “Hard Assets” allows him to focus the practice on selecting opportunities in the global resource sector with emphasis on the precious metals exploration and development sector. Ballanger takes great pleasure in visiting mineral properties around the globe in the never-ending hunt for early-stage opportunities.

Disclosure: 1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Michael Ballanger and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Michael Ballanger is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in any aspect of the article preparation. Michael Ballanger was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. 2) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 3) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Charts provided by the author.

Michael Ballanger Disclaimer: This letter makes no guarantee or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the data provided. Nothing contained herein is intended or shall be deemed to be investment advice, implied or otherwise. This letter represents my views and replicates trades that I am making but nothing more than that. Always consult your registered advisor to assist you with your investments. I accept no liability for any loss arising from the use of the data contained on this letter. Options and junior mining stocks contain a high level of risk that may result in the loss of part or all invested capital and therefore are suitable for experienced and professional investors and traders only. One should be familiar with the risks involved in junior mining and options trading and we recommend consulting a financial adviser if you feel you do not understand the risks involved.

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