#mccormick family history

[blogmollylane]

Newly acquired:

Everyone in my family has killed someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick

[corporatefrog]

꒦‧₊ ꒷ HEADCANNONS: Going on a Road Trip with Kyle, Kenny, Stan, and Butters (Separately) ✧.*

✧.* tags: college au, road trips, ✧.* Charactions: kyle broflovski, stan marsh, kenny mccormick, butters scotch a/n: I drove home to visit family this weekend and the 5 hours drive always drags. so i made up driving buddies to pass the time lol masterlist

Kyle

He definitely drives. Not because he prefers driving but because he refuses the thought of someone else being in control of the car that isn’t his mom (sheila is def a crazy driver but he’s desensitized)

He’s a good driver though. ALWAYS uses a turn signal, even if there isn’t a car behind you

“Kyle we haven’t seen anyone for 20 minutes, why are you using your blinker to change lanes”

“Well i thought i saw headlights in my rearview”

“That’s the stoplight we just passed-”

I feel like he’d love a good road trip. Airports are too stressful and driving means you can chit chat and get actual food and not hear a baby screaming for 3 hours

PODCAST LISTENER

He’s got at least 5 episodes downloaded depending on the genre you want

Like listening to commentary or informative podcasts so you guys can talk about them together

“So I downloaded a podcast about the history of Jeoprady and a few episodes of a JK Rowling audio- documentary- thing.”

“Have I told you that you are the best person ever” 

“Yeah, but you could tell me again”

Kenny

LOVES ROAD TRIPS!

Blasting music! Head out the window! Going 85 on a 55 back road! Let him in the car!

Prefers to be a passenger so he can be silly without risking the car crashing

He always has to stop for snacks at the beginning so you can munch on the way (and because gas station snacks are the absolute best) 

“Corn nuts?”

“Check”

“Bugles?”

“Check”

“Muddie Buddies?”

“Double check”

He’s got a mega playlist full of both of your favorite car jams that he updates regularly 

Definitely a ton of Black Eyed Peas

And some tyler the creator too probably

If you’re going on a longer trip, he is OUT after 4 hours

Absolutely drooling, head turned to a weird angle that’ll give him a huge crick in the neck once he’s up, but god DAMN is a restful

He’s up in 45 minutes and ready to party some more

If you’re driving through the night, he likes to stop and pull to the side of the road so you can look at the stars

And so he can piss

Stan

Give him aux or he will cry

Whereas kenny knows the difference between car vibe music and home vibe music, stan does not

Bro definitely put every fall out boy song EVER on there

Which like, you’re not complaining. 

He probably likes to switch drivers every few hours so you both can take a break and enjoy the drive.

He prefers being the passenger though, he likes staring out the window and unfocusing his eyes so everything blurs together

Probably enjoys flights a bit more honestly

“I mean, it’s like 2 hours and you’re there!”

“2 hours + 1 for getting to the airport + 2 for getting through security + 1 for waiting to board + 1 for landing” 

“Yeah and??? You don’t have to drive??”

Randy probably had a shit ton of frequent flier miles for some reasons so the marshs were a flying family for sure. 

Butters

Passenger princess.

Give him a blanket PLEASE

Whenever you stop for gas, he finds the BEST trinkets

“Look at this air freshener I found! It smells like honeysuckle! Can we put it in the car for the rest of the drive?” 

Likes to having music playing low so it’s just in the background while you guys talk

Definitely brings mad libs

“Okay can i have an adjective”

“Uh,,, Smelly >:)”

Bro starts GIGGLING 

He’d like to go on the drive just to play road trip games with you

Doesn’t know how pumping gas works

“YN!! You have to stop the gas!”

“What do you mean butters, the tank isn’t full”

“But it’ll overflow if you just let it keep going!”

“What-”

The sweetest driving buddy ever

[usafphantom2]

I stumbled upon this Lockheed A-12, #60-6940, the only surviving Blackbird M-21 drone carrier variant, mothballed at Mojave in the spring of 1991.

‘The A-12 was predecessor to the SR-71. This pile of parts was eventually restored and is currently the centerpiece of Seattle's Museum of Flight.

The A-12s and special variant M -21 with a white protective paint( spray lat) and placed outside before they were sent to museums.

Update~ It was originally posted that this M-21 was abandoned in the desert NOT TRUE

It was just placed there temporarily. It was always the intention to place all the reminding blackbirds in museums, but only after a battle.

My father writes in his unpublished book that Ben Rich and Butch Sheffield had an idea to give the SR 71s to the New York National Guard. Ben and Butch wined and dined everyone in Washington trying to save the SR 71 program. They were desperate to keep the airplanes flying. ‘’ When I offered the SR 71s to the head of the New York National Guard he was so excited he almost jumped out of the car that we were riding in.” YES, I want them” He said!

Larry Welch found out about the deal to keep the SR-71 flying and killed it. Larry was known to say this also.

The Blackbird can’t fire a gun and doesn’t carry a bomb, and I don’t want it:

’So were claims by SAC generals that the SR-71 cost $400 million annually to run. The actual cost was about $260 million.” They lied to Congress. They also said that a replacement to the SR 71 would be seen soon which was 35 years ago. I’m just telling you this to set the record straight as the memory of the history of the SR 71 program is important to me and my family.

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Larry Welch wanted to physically destroy every Blackbird !!

He asked the Skunk Works for a number $$ how much money would it cost to destroy them … to pick them apart piece by piece and destroy the titanium, the engines, everything in the beautiful blackbirds. He wanted it killed and dead. That is how deep his hatred was of the Blackbird program that he was rejected from. When I say blackbird, I mean all of the SR 71s, A-12s YF 12s, and the only remaining M 21 that is shown in these pictures.

Ben Rich leader of the Skunk Works sent back a message with an astronomical figure of millions of dollars to destroy just one SR-71

Reluctantly Larry said I guess it would cost too much to destroy them.

Thank you to Mike McCormick for sending me this.

Originally posted by Troy PAIVA.

Linda Sheffield Miller

@Habubrats71 via X

[scotianostra]

Reverend Patrick Bell was born on May 12th 1799 at Auchterhouse near Dundee.

Born into a farming family Bell was brought up at the farrm at Mid Leoch and attended Auchterhouse Parish School, Patrick Bell was only 27 when he had the idea that led to his invention, which was one of the first pieces of mechanical agricultural machinery to be used. He failed to profit financially from his invention, preferring instead to become parish minister. He studied Divinity at St Andrews University and was ordained as minister of Carmyllie Church in 1843.

Two stained glass windows at Carmyllie Church commemorate his life. He was minister in the parish from 1843 till his death in 1869.

The following excellent article is reprinted here with the kind permission of the Dundee Courier and Advertiser in 2008.

The 2008 harvest has been a trial, but spare a thought for those who had to struggle in the far off pre-combine days, when crops were cut and bound into sheaves. All highly labour intensive stuff but at least the binder could cut and bind the sheaves in one operation - before that it was sickle or scythe for cutting and hand binding.

It was an Angus man who started the world's farms on the way to harvest mechanisation. Patrick Bell, a farmer's son from Mid Leoch, near Auchterhouse, developed the first successful reaper in 1828.

He had a very analytical mind and was especially interested in engineering. He installed a gas lighting system at Mid Leoch and even took an interest in the cultivation of sugar beet, growing some and extracting sugar from it a century before the industry came to Scotland.

Many people, historians included, have mistakenly credited Cyrus McCormick of America as the inventor of the reaper in 1831. However, it should be Patrick Bell who is recognised as the designer of a machine that was deemed far more efficient and reliable than any previous attempts. Four of his reapers went to America where it is likely they influenced the designs of both McCormick and his contemporary Obed Hussey.

Patrick Bell designed and built his reaper when he was a divinity student at St Andrews University, getting the idea for his cutting system from a pair of garden shears that were stuffed into a hedge. He took the shears through a gap in the hedge and tried them on some standing grain. His first design was built in model form and with the help of a Tealing carpenter a full size version was assembled. Fear of derision led him to spread earth on the floor of his shed where he planted stalks of harvested grain to trial his machine.

The reaper cut the grain adequately but it fell unevenly for gathering for hand binding. Undaunted, he developed a canvas conveyor that the cut grain fell back against. It was then transported to the side of the machine falling into a neat windrow. A revolving reel to pull the crop on to the knife was also included in his design.

Eventually satisfied with his machine's performance he and his brother took the reaper out to a field of wheat at 11pm when prying eyes were asleep. The "guid horse Jock" was yoked, but the trial started disappointingly. In their excitement the brothers had forgotten to attach the reel. They hurriedly brought it out to the field and fitted it. The machine then worked very satisfactorily. Confident of the reaper's ability a public trial was staged at Powrie Farm on the 10th of September 1828. It received a favourable report in the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture" and received a premium of £50 from the Highland Agricultural Society, which barely covered costs.

Bell did not file for a patent believing that his invention should benefit all. This led to various copies being made that were inferior to the Bell-made machines and they did nothing to encourage wide-spread usage. However around 10 of Bell's machines were sold in east central Scotland and, as previously mentioned, four crossed the Atlantic, others went to Australia and Poland.

At this time in history labour was still cheap and many farmers did not see the benefit of such a machine, preferring to stay with traditional methods. This was another case of a good invention being too far ahead of its time. However, the Bell machine was to prove itself as far as reliability and longevity was concerned, as the original machine continued for many harvests at Mid Leoch before going to work for many more at his brother's Inchmichael Farm.

In 1852 it was put in a good state of repair and shown at the Highland Show at Perth where it was thought by many to be the latest machine on the market. However, the Americans eventually began to sell greater quantities of reaping machines no doubt due to their lightness, manoeuvrability and competitive mass-produced pricing.

Meanwhile, now ordained, the Reverend Bell became minister of Carmyllie parish where he continued an interest in engineering, working at his bench at the manse. He remained unaffected by all the clamour that his machine had caused.

The Inchmichael machine, fastidiously looked after by his brother, ended up in the Science Museum in London where it still resides today.

Two contemporary models of the machine were presented to the National Museum and one is on show at the National Museum of Rural Life at Kittochside, East Kilbride. A third was presented by his daughters to the agricultural department of Aberdeen University.

Today's combine harvester has thus developed from the work of two ingenious Scotsmen - it is a combination of Andrew Meikle's threshing mechanism and Patrick Bell's reaper.

[dailyanarchistposts]

A.5 What are some examples of “Anarchy in Action”?

A.5.2 The Haymarket Martyrs

May 1st is a day of special significance for the labour movement. While it has been hijacked in the past by the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union and elsewhere, the labour movement festival of May Day is a day of world-wide solidarity. A time to remember past struggles and demonstrate our hope for a better future. A day to remember that an injury to one is an injury to all.

The history of Mayday is closely linked with the anarchist movement and the struggles of working people for a better world. Indeed, it originated with the execution of four anarchists in Chicago in 1886 for organising workers in the fight for the eight-hour day. Thus May Day is a product of “anarchy in action” — of the struggle of working people using direct action in labour unions to change the world.

It began in the 1880s in the USA. In 1884, the Federation of Organised Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada (created in 1881, it changed its name in 1886 to the American Federation of Labor) passed a resolution which asserted that “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886, and that we recommend to labour organisations throughout this district that they so direct their laws as to conform to this resolution.” A call for strikes on May 1st, 1886 was made in support of this demand.

In Chicago the anarchists were the main force in the union movement, and partially as a result of their presence, the unions translated this call into strikes on May 1st. The anarchists thought that the eight hour day could only be won through direct action and solidarity. They considered that struggles for reforms, like the eight hour day, were not enough in themselves. They viewed them as only one battle in an ongoing class war that would only end by social revolution and the creation of a free society. It was with these ideas that they organised and fought.

In Chicago alone, 400 000 workers went out and the threat of strike action ensured that more than 45 000 were granted a shorter working day without striking. On May 3, 1886, police fired into a crowd of pickets at the McCormick Harvester Machine Company, killing at least one striker, seriously wounding five or six others, and injuring an undetermined number. Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the brutality. According to the Mayor, “nothing had occurred yet, or looked likely to occur to require interference.” However, as the meeting was breaking up a column of 180 police arrived and ordered the meeting to end. At this moment a bomb was thrown into the police ranks, who opened fire on the crowd. How many civilians were wounded or killed by the police was never exactly ascertained, but 7 policemen eventually died (ironically, only one was the victim of the bomb, the rest were a result of the bullets fired by the police [Paul Avrich, The Haymarket Tragedy, p. 208]).

A “reign of terror” swept over Chicago, and the “organised banditti and conscienceless brigands of capital suspended the only papers which would give the side of those whom they crammed into prison cells. They have invaded the homes of everyone who has ever known to have raised a voice or sympathised with those who have aught to say against the present system of robbery and oppression … they have invaded their homes and subjected them and their families to indignities that must be seen to be believed.” [Lucy Parsons, Liberty, Equality & Solidarity, p. 53] Meeting halls, union offices, printing shops and private homes were raided (usually without warrants). Such raids into working-class areas allowed the police to round up all known anarchists and other socialists. Many suspects were beaten up and some bribed. “Make the raids first and look up the law afterwards” was the public statement of J. Grinnell, the States Attorney, when a question was raised about search warrants. [“Editor’s Introduction”, The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs, p. 7]

Eight anarchists were put on trial for accessory to murder. No pretence was made that any of the accused had carried out or even planned the bomb. The judge ruled that it was not necessary for the state to identify the actual perpetrator or prove that he had acted under the influence of the accused. The state did not try to establish that the defendants had in any way approved or abetted the act. In fact, only three were present at the meeting when the bomb exploded and one of those, Albert Parsons, was accompanied by his wife and fellow anarchist Lucy and their two small children to the event.

The reason why these eight were picked was because of their anarchism and union organising, as made clear by that State’s Attorney when he told the jury that “Law is on trial. Anarchy is on trial. These men have been selected, picked out by the Grand Jury, and indicted because they were leaders. They are no more guilty than the thousands who follow them. Gentlemen of the jury; convict these men, make examples of them, hang them and you save our institutions, our society.” The jury was selected by a special bailiff, nominated by the State’s Attorney and was explicitly chosen to compose of businessmen and a relative of one of the cops killed. The defence was not allowed to present evidence that the special bailiff had publicly claimed “I am managing this case and I know what I am about. These fellows are going to be hanged as certain as death.” [Op. Cit., p. 8] Not surprisingly, the accused were convicted. Seven were sentenced to death, one to 15 years’ imprisonment.

An international campaign resulted in two of the death sentences being commuted to life, but the world wide protest did not stop the US state. Of the remaining five, one (Louis Lingg) cheated the executioner and killed himself on the eve of the execution. The remaining four (Albert Parsons, August Spies, George Engel and Adolph Fischer) were hanged on November 11th 1887. They are known in Labour history as the Haymarket Martyrs. Between 150,000 and 500,000 lined the route taken by the funeral cortege and between 10,000 to 25,000 were estimated to have watched the burial.

In 1889, the American delegation attending the International Socialist congress in Paris proposed that May 1st be adopted as a workers’ holiday. This was to commemorate working class struggle and the “Martyrdom of the Chicago Eight”. Since then Mayday has became a day for international solidarity. In 1893, the new Governor of Illinois made official what the working class in Chicago and across the world knew all along and pardoned the Martyrs because of their obvious innocence and because “the trial was not fair.” To this day, no one knows who threw the bomb — the only definite fact is that it was not any of those who were tried for the act: “Our comrades were not murdered by the state because they had any connection with the bomb-throwing, but because they had been active in organising the wage-slaves of America.” [Lucy Parsons, Op. Cit., p. 142]

The authorities had believed at the time of the trial that such persecution would break the back of the labour movement. As Lucy Parsons, a participant of the events, noted 20 years later, the Haymarket trial “was a class trial — relentless, vindictive, savage and bloody. By that prosecution the capitalists sought to break the great strike for the eight-hour day which as being successfully inaugurated in Chicago, this city being the stormcentre of that great movement; and they also intended, by the savage manner in which they conducted the trial of these men, to frighten the working class back to their long hours of toil and low wages from which they were attempting to emerge. The capitalistic class imagined they could carry out their hellish plot by putting to an ignominious death the most progressive leaders among the working class of that day. In executing their bloody deed of judicial murder they succeeded, but in arresting the mighty onward movement of the class struggle they utterly failed.” [Lucy Parsons, Op. Cit., p. 128] In the words of August Spies when he addressed the court after he had been sentenced to die:

“If you think that by hanging us you can stamp out the labour movement … the movement from which the downtrodden millions, the millions who toil in misery and want, expect salvation — if this is your opinion, then hang us! Here you will tread on a spark, but there and there, behind you — and in front of you, and everywhere, flames blaze up. It is a subterranean fire. You cannot put it out.” [quoted by Paul Avrich, Op. Cit., p. 287]

At the time and in the years to come, this defiance of the state and capitalism was to win thousands to anarchism, particularly in the US itself. Since the Haymarket event, anarchists have celebrated May Day (on the 1st of May — the reformist unions and labour parties moved its marches to the first Sunday of the month). We do so to show our solidarity with other working class people across the world, to celebrate past and present struggles, to show our power and remind the ruling class of their vulnerability. As Nestor Makhno put it:

“That day those American workers attempted, by organising themselves, to give expression to their protest against the iniquitous order of the State and Capital of the propertied … “The workers of Chicago … had gathered to resolve, in common, the problems of their lives and their struggles… “Today too … the toilers … regard the first of May as the occasion of a get-together when they will concern themselves with their own affairs and consider the matter of their emancipation.” [The Struggle Against the State and Other Essays, pp. 59–60]

Anarchists stay true to the origins of May Day and celebrate its birth in the direct action of the oppressed. It is a classic example of anarchist principles of direct action and solidarity, “an historic event of great importance, inasmuch as it was, in the first place, the first time that workers themselves had attempted to get a shorter work day by united, simultaneous action … this strike was the first in the nature of Direct Action on a large scale, the first in America.” [Lucy Parsons, Op. Cit., pp. 139–40] Oppression and exploitation breed resistance and, for anarchists, May Day is an international symbol of that resistance and power — a power expressed in the last words of August Spies, chiselled in stone on the monument to the Haymarket martyrs in Waldheim Cemetery in Chicago:

“The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today.”

To understand why the state and business class were so determined to hang the Chicago Anarchists, it is necessary to realise they were considered the leaders of a massive radical union movement. In 1884, the Chicago Anarchists produced the world’s first daily anarchist newspaper, the Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeiting. This was written, read, owned and published by the German immigrant working class movement. The combined circulation of this daily plus a weekly (Vorbote) and a Sunday edition (Fackel) more than doubled, from 13,000 per issues in 1880 to 26,980 in 1886. Anarchist weekly papers existed for other ethnic groups as well (one English, one Bohemian and one Scandinavian).

Anarchists were very active in the Central Labour Union (which included the eleven largest unions in the city) and aimed to make it, in the words of Albert Parsons (one of the Martyrs), “the embryonic group of the future ‘free society.’” The anarchists were also part of the International Working People’s Association (also called the “Black International”) which had representatives from 26 cities at its founding convention. The I.W.P.A. soon “made headway among trade unions, especially in the mid-west” and its ideas of “direct action of the rank and file” and of trade unions “serv[ing] as the instrument of the working class for the complete destruction of capitalism and the nucleus for the formation of a new society” became known as the “Chicago Idea” (an idea which later inspired the Industrial Workers of the World which was founded in Chicago in 1905). [“Editor’s Introduction,” The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs, p. 4]

This idea was expressed in the manifesto issued at the I.W.P.A.‘s Pittsburgh Congress of 1883:

“First — Destruction of the existing class rule, by all means, i.e. by energetic, relentless, revolutionary and international action. “Second — Establishment of a free society based upon co-operative organisation of production. “Third — Free exchange of equivalent products by and between the productive organisations without commerce and profit-mongery. “Fourth — Organisation of education on a secular, scientific and equal basis for both sexes. “Fifth — Equal rights for all without distinction to sex or race. “Sixth — Regulation of all public affairs by free contracts between autonomous (independent) communes and associations, resting on a federalistic basis.” [Op. Cit., p. 42]

In addition to their union organising, the Chicago anarchist movement also organised social societies, picnics, lectures, dances, libraries and a host of other activities. These all helped to forge a distinctly working-class revolutionary culture in the heart of the “American Dream.” The threat to the ruling class and their system was too great to allow it to continue (particularly with memories of the vast uprising of labour in 1877 still fresh. As in 1886, that revolt was also meet by state violence — see Strike! by J. Brecher for details of this strike movement as well as the Haymarket events). Hence the repression, kangaroo court, and the state murder of those the state and capitalist class considered “leaders” of the movement.

For more on the Haymarket Martyrs, their lives and their ideas, The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs is essential reading. Albert Parsons, the only American born Martyr, produced a book which explained what they stood for called Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Scientific Basis. Historian Paul Avrich’s The Haymarket Tragedy is a useful in depth account of the events.

[purinsesukinny]

presenting the topic of my ap bio final paper: the curious case of one kenny mccormick

readable text and poorly done citations under the cut

"I can't die. I've experienced death countless times. Sometimes I see a bright light, sometimes I see heaven or hell. But eventually no matter what I wake up in my bed wearing my same old clothes. And the worst part? Nobody even remembers me dying. I go to school the next day and everyone's all "Oh hey, Kenny.". Even if they've seen me get decapitated with their own eyes. So you want to whine about curses, Hindsight? You're talking to the wrong f*cking cowboy." - Mysterion, s14e12 “Mysterion Rises”

Kenny McCormick, aka Mysterion, is a nine-year-old on the show, South Park, which has been running for 22 years as of 2019. One of the main gags of the show is having Kenny be victim to various gruesome and gory deaths before coming back to life in the next episode. However, up until season 4, it was never made clear exactly how he came back. During episode 6 of that season, titled “Cartman Joins NAMBLA,” it is revealed that his mother literally gives birth to a new Kenny following each of his deaths. (We then find out in season 14 that this is due to some secret cult ritual that the McCormicks had volunteered to be a part of before Kenny’s birth, but that’s beside the point.)

His abilities in being able to die and be reborn often cause him grief, as shown in the quote above, especially given that only a few people decide to acknowledge or show any remorse when he dies. Although Kenny is shown to be friendly with many of his peers, it seems that mostly only his family continues to be shocked and horrified with each of his deaths. (But this phenomenon isn’t something that we’re going to touch today.) Towards the latter half of the show’s history, Kenny decides to take on the mantle as Mysterion, a vigilante who roams the city of South Park at night, fighting criminals without fear. After all, it’s not like he’ll stay dead, right?

One of the biggest biological mysteries regarding Kenny’s rebirths is his ability to retain his memories, even within a brand-new body. It is often believed that one’s memories are contained within their RNA, and with brand-new RNA each time, it shouldn’t be possible that he would be able to have all of his memories back. However, with the idea of viable “memory transfers,” it is.

The memory transfer theory is that transferring RNA from one organism that has been “trained” to react in a certain way, to another organism (called the “naive” organism, where it hasn’t been “trained”) will cause the naive organism to have those learned reactions to certain stimuli. The idea is that, if we could figure out some way to inject RNA from Kenny’s dead body into his new body, then we could transfer the memories from his old body into his new one, as the memory transfer theory states. This is based off of McConnell’s experiment in March 1960, where they were able to successfully implant learned reactions from one planarian to a naive one. This was done by using the cannibalistic tendencies of a specific species of planarian, such that the naive planarians reacted to stimuli in the way that the trained planarians were conditioned to react.

Scientists have also begun to experiment with snails.

This implies that in order for Kenny to be able to retain his memories after being reborn, he would need to somehow consume brain matter (where RNA is made) from his former corpse -- something that would be pretty difficult for a newborn to do. As such, it is probable that his mother would have to consume Kenny’s brain for him, which comes with an entire other set of problems that have to do with the kuru disease (often likened to “mad cow” disease) due to the prions that she would be ingesting and putting into both herself and Kenny’s unborn self. However, the symptoms of kuru often don’t show up until later in life, sometimes even 50 years after contracting the disease. Carol McCormick is about 25 years old at this point in the show, making her about 75 years old by the time she would be overdue for showing symptoms, meaning she would live a long and fulfilling life.

However, another problem that comes out of constantly being reborn is that Carol will have to be able to become pregnant and give birth within a day, and often without in vitro fertilization. This would involve an increased rate of production of estrogen, progesterone, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), relaxin, and oxytocin, the hormones involved in preparing the body for pregnancy, such that she would be able to get pregnant and give birth, all in one evening. (Prolactin is not included as Kenny usually grows up too quickly for him to need breast milk.) Similarly, Kenny would also have to rapidly secrete enough human growth hormone (hGH), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in order to reach his previous age. As he is currently 9 years old, it will definitely take a longer amount of time for him to produce enough of these hormones that he will be able to reach his current age. For both Carol and Kenny, there would need to be some stimuli of the release of the appropriate hormones for these reactions to occur.

Actual line from the show. Carol corrects her husband, saying that it’s the 52nd time.

Overall, Kenny is basically just a normal kid with unusually talented fighting skills who just happens to have really bad luck. He is reborn through sped-up version of the normal process, and retains the memories of his previous body by letting his mom eat his decaying brains, of which there probably won’t be side effects until later in both of their lives. However, what really made him a superhero was his desire to use his abilities to help the people of his town, turning something that he views as a bad thing into something more positive.

citations:

(tumblr wouldn’t let me actually paste the links 😐)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

I'll be in TUCSON, AZ from November 8-10: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

#20yrsago For sale: action against bloggers https://web.archive.org/web/20041103065814/http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/010962.shtml#010962

#15yrsago US Department of Defense adopts “open source guidelines” https://powdermonkey.blogs.com/powdermonkey/2009/10/department-of-defense-new-guidance-on-open-source-software.html

#5yrsago Samsung satellite crashes in family’s yard https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/weird/satellite-lands-in-michigan-yard/69-8ea9d127-83a7-4729-9f20-6b79bbf77a11

#5yrsago Les gilets noirs: a French protest movement defending migrants’ rights https://theintercept.com/2019/10/27/france-black-vests-gilets-noirs/

#5yrsago Navy Yard worker outed by Unicorn Riot is indicted for lying to the FBI about his white nationalist group memberships https://www.inquirer.com/news/vanguard-america-unite-the-right-fred-arenas-mccormick-foley-20191025.html

#5yrsago Indigenous elder on Sidewalk Labs’s Toronto consultation: “like being given blankets and gun powder and whisky to trade for our participation” https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/indigenous-elder-slams-hollow-and-tokenistic-consultation-by-sidewalk-labs/article_450e40c2-69b4-53a4-b17d-f094be005b43.html

#1yrago A taxonomy of corporate bullshit https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/27/six-sells/#youre-holding-it-wrong

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

[wordywhiskers]

The Birth of the Pill by Jonathan Eig - Book Review

"...The Pill was The Pill because it was the only one that mattered, the one everyone was talking about, the one they needed.”

I bought The Birth of the Pill from an indie bookstore during a vacation in West Texas. I was very interested in the history of contraception, especially regarding the pill. In large part, this is because the pill has evolved into more than just a tool for contraception. The pill is now an avenue to regulate menstrual cycles, control pain from cramps, clear stubborn acne, and more. It was so interesting to read about the inception of the birth control movement and the creation of the pill.

What I loved about The Birth of the Pill is the structure. The author, Jonathan Eig, tells the stories of four different significant figures within the contraception movement. By doing this he turns a lengthy and complicated historical piece into something more akin to a fiction novel's narrative. Four main characters - feminist movement spearhead Margaret Sanger, the passionate and wealthy Katherine McCormick, determined biologist Gregory Pincus, and unconventional Catholic doctor John Rock, are the biggest drivers of the birth control movement during this time.

Let’s move on to a brief summary of these four characters. I’m barely scratching the surface here, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write a little about how these four band together!

Margaret Sanger’s mission for life was to make birth control universally available to all women regardless of their circumstances. In a time when it was widely unaccepted by most, she pushed people to consider the benefits of contraception and often challenged legislature that prevented women from accessing information and products related to birth control. She was the founder of the American Birth Control League, which would eventually become the Planned Parenthood Federation. When she met biologist Gregory Pincus in 1951, they got to work right away on developing a safe and effective birth control method, the pill.

Gregory Pincus was a biologist who was extremely well-versed in reproductive science. He tested his biological research on rabbits, such as IVF and hormone injections. In a time of skepticism regarding topics such as “babies born in glass”, he was ostracized for his bold research by the general public as well as his academic peers. Pincus would eventually get involved with Sanger and Katherine McCormick to develop a birth control pill. His research on hormones gave him the confidence he could deliver. He collaborated with Dr. John Rock, a distinguished obstetrician and gynecologist, who believed in the cause due to his experience seeing women suffer during unwanted pregnancies in his clinic.

Dr. John Rock worked in obstetrics and gynecology and was a Harvard professor who educated students on birth control. He published a book, Voluntary Parenthood, that served as a guide to birth control for the general population. He agreed to work with Pincus on the pill and became essential to the movement not only in research but as a presentable representation of the cause. As a devout Catholic, he gave hope to those who would deny birth control for religious reasons. Rock spoke out frequently about the Church’s unfair opposition to the pill. He challenged the views about the interplay of religion and contraception, which was key to mass acceptance of birth control.

Katherine McCormick was essentially the sole benefactor of the creation of the pill. McCormick was born into a wealthy family in Chicago and earned her bachelor’s in biology from MIT. Much like Margaret Sanger, she was a woman’s rights activist during a period when controlling women’s minds and bodies was still a societal norm. These two daring women meet and form an unstoppable force against the stigmas about contraception. McCormick’s inheritance left to her by her husband gave her complete freedom to back the birth control movement. Anytime Pincus needed funds to continue research or testing, McCormick was there with her checkbook.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about contraception or women’s history. It could be a touch too in-depth for some readers, but I found the experience to be rewarding overall! If this brief summary interests you, I would strongly encourage you to dive into the book. There are so many intriguing details that went into the production of the pill, and all the moving parts involved kept me engaged throughout.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Today in Christian History

Today is Friday, June 21st, 2024. It is the 173rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; Because it is a leap year, 193 days remain until the end of the year.

431: When they discover that Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria intends to open the Council of Ephesus without waiting for the arrival of Patriarch John of Antioch, who is supposed to be its president (John has been delayed by flooding), bishops of the East sign a formal act demanding delay. Cyril will ignore them and condemn Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople because of his christology and order John to break communion with him.

1579: Francis Fletcher, chaplain to Sir Francis Drake, reads from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer somewhere in California on “the first Sunday after Trinity”—the first time the English prayer book is known to have been used in the New World. A number of Indians gather to watch. Captain Drake's rough sailors, who have just plundered their way up the Spanish coast, lift their hands to heaven and pray God to open the eyes of the Indian idolaters “to the knowledge of him and of Jesus Christ the salvation of the Gentiles.”

1663: The men of Groton, Massachusetts, vote to make Samuel Willard their pastor “for as long as he lives.” Several years later an Indian raid will destroy the town and Willard will move to Boston where he will rise in prominence.

1691: John Flavel, a godly pastor in Dartmouth, England, preaches his last sermon, taking as his text 1 Corinthians 10: 12 “Wherefore let him that stands take heed lest he fall,” urging those who are careless of their Christian profession to show a deeper concern for their souls. He had written books urging full committment to Christ and was known for his passion in prayer. For instance, once learning that a sea battle was in progress and knowing that many Dartmouth boys were in the navy, he led his people in prayer and fasting. Not one of Dartmouth’s many sailors died.

1834: (pictured above) Cyrus McCormick, a Christian inventor and businessman from Virginia, patents the world’s first truly workable reaper. He will make a fortune from it, much of which will go to charity.

1837: Angelina Grimké addresses a large “mixed” audience of men and women in Boston, Massachusetts, the onset of bringing many women into active participation in the movement to abolish slavery, but also conclusively repulsing gender discrimination in her lectures.

1846: Death of Isaac McCoy, a missionary to American Indians. McCoy and his family had endured great privation and hardship in their pioneer life. He had been criticized for urging the transfer of Indians from their ancestral lands, but his writings show he was concerned they were being corrupted by contact with whites.

1853: The First Congregationalist Church in Chicago burns to the ground. Set ablze by enemies because of its opposition to slavery. The Congregationalists will dedicate a new, bigger church building just four months later.

[cockypark]

a short sot k2 fic for @0-dear-rose-0! @spinthetags

word count: 1070

Kenny keeps her gloved hands folded neatly in her lap. She keeps her eyes trained on whoever speaks, occasionally sneaking glances at Kyle. He doesn’t even pretend to look invested. The respective councils of the Elven Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kupa Keep were already meeting for the third time to discuss the peace treaty. Cartman’s increasingly stupid demands would stretch the meetings out for another month, so Kyle gave up on listening early. Kenny admired his transparency. She was always concerned with appearances. Of course, when you’re king, no one is on your ass about posture.

Kyle’s eyes flit across the room out of boredom, meeting Kenny’s. She smiles subtly, an air of mischief on her face. She signals for him to look at Paladin Butters. He didn’t even notice he was speaking.

“King Eric’s next request is that imports and exports go through Kupa Keep’s customs before delivery.”

Kenny mouths “nosy bastard.” Kyle shakes his head with humor. He leans in and whispers in Stan's ear.

“King Kyle will honor that request if all imports and exports also go through our customs as well.”

Cartman’s eyes narrow. He nods once. Butters scribbles something down. “King Eric agrees.”

Kenny excitedly knocks the gavel on the marble block. “Both kingdoms will inspect imports and exports before delivery.” It was the only worthwhile part of these meetings. Cartman didn’t even want her there, but she couldn’t give him what he wanted. She claimed her birthright, and these meetings claimed her Sundays. “The penalty for failure to comply shall result in investigation and trial, as well as a temporary pause in imports and exports. So behave, boys.”

Kyle glances at her with affection. She winks, resettling her hands in her lap.

“The King’s next request,” Paladin Butters starts, “Is that the Stick of Truth be returned to its place in Kupa Keep.”

Kyle’s head snaps up. He frowns deeply. “The fuck? No.”

“King Kyle, I am disappointed to have to remind you that Kupa Keep is its historical resting place,” Cartman sneers. “I’m asking that we honor history.”

“Like hell you are!” Kyle fumes. “You want it where you have unlimited access to.”

“Through a show of hands, how many council members are in favor of honoring Wizard King Cartman’s request to keep the Stick of Truth at the Kingdom of Kupa Keep?” Stan asks.

Cartman and Butters raise their hands. The king looks displeased. “Kenny, what the hell?”

“I hate to remind you, King Eric, that the McCormick family are the actual historical holders of the Stick. It is a moot point.”

Cartman scoffs. Kenny rolls her eyes in Kyle’s direction. He’s delightfully surprised at her lack of vote. She was playing more transparent in return.

“In that case, I want the council to be aware of the fuck-me eyes Kenny and Kyle are exchanging!” Cartman exclaims.

Kenny presses her hand to her chest in feigned shock. She knocks the gavel again. “Alright! I call for a recess! Paladin, I advise that you have a talk with the King.”

Butters’ shoulders deflate. “Ken, are you serious? Can’t we just-?”

“No!” Kenny interrupts. “The councils ruled all parties remain calm and composed. King Eric’s outburst is grounds for a recess. If he does not comply, I have no choice but to-”

“Don’t even say it, Kenny,” Cartman spits. He scrapes his chair across the floor while he stands. “Butters, let’s go.”

Butters side-eyes Kenny before joining the king. Kenny princess waves goodbye.

Kyle watches Kenny exhale and lean back in her seat. She throws a crooked grin his way. “Brief recess.”

-

“The resting place for the Stick is a nonnegotiable,” Wendy says. “So to satisfy Cartman, you’ll have to compromise on something else big.”

Kyle sighs. “That’s not fair, though. He shouldn’t have suggested that to begin with.”

“No one disagrees with that, Kyle. But the peace of the Elven Kingdom depends on it. It’s best we reassess a previous decision. If we tell him we’re throwing a bone, his requests are just going to become more obscure.”

“Right.” He hates this diplomatic bullshit.

Wendy and Stan exchange a look. “Kyle, we have been… concerned with your behavior.”

Kyle bristles. “What do you mean?”

“You’re appearing inattentive,” Wendy explains.

“And distracted,” Stan adds. “Dude, you and Kenny should do whatever it is and get it over with, instead of letting it impact the treaty.”

“‘Whatever it is’?”

Stan cringes. “I meant, you know… Fulfill your intentions or move on?” He looks to Wendy for support. She just shakes her head solemnly. He messed up.

Kyle pushes himself away from the table. “Tell that to Cartman, who isn’t even pretending to take this seriously. What do you think this is for?”

He leaves Wendy and Stan dead silent in the tent.

-

Kenny rolls and stuffs a cigarette into her ring holder. She lights it and takes a long drag. Her lipstick leaves a smudge on the paper. As she exhales the large cloud, Kyle appears before her. He waves through the cloud. She smiles.

“How did I just know you’d come find me?” She teases.

He sits next to her on the stone border. “Part of a king’s job is to keep the princess happy.”

“I would be a lot happier if this would move along.”

Kyle gapes at her. “You called the recess!”

She leans closer to him. “I wanted to see you.” She rests her hand on his. “Wendy and Stan are mad at you, aren’t they?”

“Other way around. The whole thing is going in circles.”

Kenny kisses his hand supportively. He leans into her, kissing her lips in return. In just a few months, everything would be right.

“Recess over?” Kyle asks. He has much more energy to argue with Cartman now.

Kenny grins wide. “Let’s get him.”

-

Kenny watches the ground the carriage treads over. When she was Elven Queen, she would put flowers all over here. Business meetings didn’t have to be boring and colorless. No, everything she owned would have her own touch. No one could tell her differently.

Her eyes naturally direct towards Eric, traveling separately from her and Butters. It would be a shame if something bad happened that way.

“Princess,” Butters says. “Were you and Kyle really… flirting?”

Kenny looks at him with curiosity. She liked Butters. He would stay an important pillar in her kingdom. Someone she could rely on. “Of course.”

~

if you like this please consider checking out my ao3! and if you're really interested, i am opening commissions :)

[delivish]

Chapter 4 is up!!

Summary:

Kenneth “Kenny” McCormick is the prince of a small kingdom, rich in honor and history — and quite poor in everything else. Desperate to secure a match that will help him reverse his family’s fortunes, Kenny finds himself in a marriage of convenience with Leopold “Butters” Stotch, the son of a wealthy merchant family. Initially dreading it, Kenny is pleasantly surprised when Butters turns out to be everything he could have hoped for. Unfortunately for Kenny, his new husband isn’t entirely the person he says he is. Butters Stotch has darkly ulterior motives, and his ambition may send the entire kingdom crashing down on their heads.

[delicioussaltynutz]

Some South Park Ocs I made

Name: Aiyden Tuffin

Race: African American

Ethnicity: American

Sexuality: Gay, Homosexual

Gender: Boy (male)

Pronouns: He/Him

Mental disorder/s: Autism, anxiety, and depression

Role: Antagonist and/or background character

Status: The A+ student and/or the gifted kid

Home life: At home he's known as the favorite child, despite the amount of pressure and expectations his parents place on his back.

Hobbies : Chess, Ping pong, digital art, sketching and/or drawing, and reading books

Interest: digital art, sketching and/or drawing, history, air crafts,and horses

Likes: digital art, sketching and/or drawing, history, air crafts, horses, lo fi, classical music, jazz, history books, fantasy books, mystery books, cats, and ocean life

Hates: Crowded places, shoving and/or pushing, loud chewing, rude or ignorant people , being babied or infantilized, and Cartman

Personality:

▪︎Negative- Snarky, sarcastic, sly , guarded, insecure, perfectionistic, stubborn, and envious

▪︎Positive- intelligent, layed back, calm, he has a sweet and brotherly side to him, he's well mannered, proper, and nerdy

Family:

° Lillith Tuffin - mom

° Aaron Tuffin - father

° Leslie Tuffin - younger brother

Pet/s:

▪︎ Name- Toast

▪︎ Gender: female

▪︎ Animal- Feret

▪︎ Breed- albino

▪︎ Personality - Lazy, sleeps a lot, affectionate, and steals a lot

Relationships:

▪︎ Friends- Tolkien Blacl, Stan Marsh, Butters Stotch, and Jimmy Valmer

▪︎ Enemies- Cartmen

▪︎ Neutral- Mr. Garrison, Bebe , Clyde, Stan, Kyle, Craig, Mr. Mackey, Chef, and Tweek

▪︎ Crush - Pip Pirrup

Voice claim(how he talks):

Name: Leslie Tuffin

Race: African American

Ethnicity: American

Sexuality: Pansexual

Gender: genderqueer

Pronouns: (any pronouns)

Mental disorder/s: auDHD ,anxiety, and depression

Role: Antagonist and/or background character

Status: The cool kid

Home life: At home he's constantly ridiculed blamed on and emotionally neglected by his parents do to them paying more attention to their brother than they do it. Not only that, but they have to deal with always living in their shadow.

Hobbies: Surfing on the beach, watching cartoons, playing in the sand, swimming,and vlogging

Interest: Surfing on the beach, watching cartoons, playing in the sand, vlogging, Terrance and Philip, comics, dinosaurs, sharks, ocean life, swimming, and the ocean in general

Likes: Surfing on the beach, watching cartoons, playing in the sand, vlogging, Terrance and Philip, comics, dinosaurs, sharks, ocean life, the ocean in general, cheesy poofs, cheese nachos (with chili and wasabi), meat lovers pizza, swimming, and energy drinks

Hates: long lines, loud chewing, clustered talking, big crowds, glitter , Cartmen, rude or ignorant people, shoving and/or pushing, disappointing it's parents, being alone or left behind, not being as great as her brother, long suffocating silence, and bullies

Personality:

▪︎Positive traits- polite, empathetic, charismatic, creative, artistic, loyal, and care free

▪︎Negative traits- lazy, impulsive, reckless, feral, chaotic, dumb, distractable, stubborn, mischievous , immature, insecure, and rebellious

Family:

▪︎ Lillith Tuffin - Mom

▪︎ Aaron Tuffin - Dad

▪︎ Aiyden Tuffin- older brother

Pet/s:

▪︎ Name: Toast

▪︎ Gender: female

▪︎ Animal: feret

▪︎ Breed: Albino

▪︎ Personality: Lazy, sleeps a lot, affectionate, and steals a lot

Relationships:

▪︎ Freinds- Tolkien Black, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski , Butters Stotch, Clyde Donovan , Jimmy Valmer, Timmy Burch, Tweek Tweak, Craig Tucker , David Rodriguez, and Wendy Testaburger

▪︎ Enemies- Cartmen, Damian ,and Red

▪︎ Neutral- ilsa, Annie, Scott Malcinson , Mr. Garrison, Mr. Mackie, and Heidi Turner

▪︎ Crush - Butter Stotch and Kenny

Voice claim (How they talk):

Name: Nikko (or Nick) Whitlock

Race: African American

Ethnicity: Jamaican

Sexuality: Aroace

Gender: Agender

Pronouns: They/Them/Their/They're

Mental disorder/s: Ocd and ADD

Role: Background character

Status: The alt kid

Home life: Both of their parents are divorced, they're life used to be shit thanks to their biological mom, but it's starting to get better now that she's not around anymore

Hobbies: scientist, robotics, writing poetry, and reading

Interest: scientist, robotics, writing poetry, reading , anything that has to do with robots or any sort of technology, DND, reading, and reading mystery and/or horror books

Likes: scientist, robotics, writing poetry, reading , anything that has to do with robots or any sort of technology, DND, reading, reading mystery and/or horror books movies video games or tv shows, and bugs

Hates: loud noises, long ass lines, crowded places, bright lights, loud chewing, gum smacking, nicknames, dad jokes , germs, and small spaces

Personality:

▪︎Positive- Calm, quiet, poetic, dramatic, theatrical, intelligent, creative, artistic, smart, caring, kept to himself, shy, mysterious, and care free

▪︎ Negative- rebellious, mischievous ,sarcastic, snarky, stubborn, reckless, insecure, and passive aggressive (if deserved)

Family:

▪︎ Felix Whitlock - Dad

▪︎Octavius Whitlock - Dad #2

▪︎ Iris Whitlock - Ex (biological) mom

▪︎ Grandma Ivy - Grandmother

Pet/s: 2 pets

1.▪︎Name- Luna

▪︎ Gender: female

▪︎ Animal - cat

▪︎ Breed - Somali/mainecoon mix

▪︎ Personality - affectionate, lazy, food driven, and tough

2. ▪︎ Name- Tigger

▪︎ Gender: male

▪︎ Animal- cat

▪︎ Breed- toyger

▪︎Personality- energetic, playful, mischievous, and clumsy

Relationships:

▪︎Friends- Firkle Smith, Henriette Biggle, Micheal, and Pete Thelman (the emo kids)

▪︎Enemies- Cartmen, Butters , Clyde, Stan, and Jimmy

▪︎Neutral- Timmy, Kyle, Stan, Tweek, Craig, Mr. Mackie, Wendy, PC Principal, and Mr. Garrison

▪︎Crush- None

Voice claim( how they talk):

(will basically share the same voice actor as his)

Name: Bruno Kattz

Race: Mixed (White+Black )

Ethnicity: German

Sexuality: Gay, Homosexual

Gender: Transgender Male (transmasc)

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Mental disorder/s: autistic

Role: Background character

Status:

° Foriegn exchange student

° The weird kid

Home life: He lives with his single dad, his single dad who is infact a straight up terrible person (all kinds of horrible infact)

Hobbies: toy making, handicrafts, scrapbooking, collecting random items similar to a crow's collection, reading or writing fanfiction, and geocaching

Interest: toy making, handicrafts, scrapbooking, collecting random items similar to a crow's collection, geocaching, dinosaurs, fanfiction, Kirby (honestly anything that's kirby related), pokemon , and bugs (any kind of bug really)

Likes: toy making, handicrafts, scrapbooking, collecting random items similar to a crow's collection, geocaching, dinosaurs, fanfiction, Kirby (honestly anything that's kirby related), pokemon , bugs (any kind of bug really) , anything that's chocolate, chili hot dogs, reading or writing fanfictions, and wolves

Hates: creamed corn, sour candy, bullies, rude people, anyone that tries and takes advantage of his kindness, huge dogs, the smell of alcohol (he smells it off of his dad a lot), ants, deafening silence, and being emerged in huge bodies of water (can't swim)

Personality:

▪︎ Positive- nerdy, happy go lucky, positive, hyperactive, cheery, weird, out going, sweet, caring, friendly, he has a personality similar to a golden retriever, and affectionate

▪︎ Negative- over bearing, clingy, struggles with jealousy and envy issues, tends to try and satisfy people and sacrifices too much of his happiness to try and get others to stay, cowardly, tends to run from his problems, and insecure

Family:

▪︎ Otto Kattz - Dad

Pet/s: none

Relationships:

▪︎ Friends- Kenny, Butters, Clyde, Tolkien, Kyle, Stan, Jimmy, Timmy, and David

▪︎ Enemies- Cartmen

▪︎ Neutral- Mr. Macky, PC Principal, and Mr. Garrison

▪︎ Crush- Scott Malkison

Voice claim(How he talks):

(But imagine him with a german accent)

This is the website I used to make them is called South Park Avatar Creator - Create Characters - Comedy Central

[mylesstories]

character sheet

name: kenny mccormick

gender: genderfluid

pronouns: any

sexuality: omnisexual

languages: english, spanish || portuguese

subjects: mathematics, history, hospitality

interests: mythology, reptiles

friends: klyde markman, kyle broflovski, stan marsh, butters stotch

family: stuart mccormick, carol mccormick, kevin mccormick, karen mccormick

picrew:

[nevada-got-screwed-over]

Taglist: @averagejoey2000

Original Inspiration / Masterpost

Chapter 19 / Chapter 21

Theta!South AU. I Guess.

Chapter: 20

Words: “if you know me you can guess what character makes a cameo this chapter" (2,274)

Hargrove backed off – at least while she settled into the Staff of Charon, as much as she could, given the circumstances. He had only briefly acknowledged Theta, asking her to ensure no such...mishaps happened again. She promised, as much as she could given the circumstances.

She was assigned a barracks and nothing else – no commanding officer to report to, no soldiers not-so-subtly shadowing her. South was starting to get optimistic about her chances of getting her hands on a proper weapon when she heard there was a shooting range on board.

Perhaps a little too optimistic.

“Psychological evaluation?” South scoffed, half growling in frustration at the stony faced soldier in charge of distributing arms.

“It’s standard protocol.” She shrugged, clearly having had this conversation with trigger happy recruits. There was a shine of apprehension in her eyes as South glowered from behind her helmet. “Dr. McCormick is on deck 4, same wing as medical. Their office is number –”

South had already started to stalk away, more dejected than offended that she was still weaponless long after Hargrove had stopped hovering over her shoulder. For all his paranoia, he took her word that she would be cooperative so long as she had Theta. And, partially to her own surprise, they were cooperating. There was no logical reason to antagonize him without proper escape routes.

The routine of bunking in barracks, running solo-drills in the training room – even the unease of the other soldiers who interacted with her was fading to something she could ignore. There was a sickening comfort in the familiarity of the cafeteria food. Even the rare rumble of mongooses on the boarding deck reminded her of the MOI. Of the Project.

Staring down the door of a psychologist only reinforced the warped deja-vu that blurred her thoughts.

“I don’t like this…” Theta was nestled safely in her mind, his presence somehow lighter than she remembered it being the last time they had synced. He was echoing her own doubts and irrational fears.

“This isn’t Price. This is just the guy Hargrove hires to make sure his private army isn’t plotting a mutiny.” South breathed slowly before raising a hand to the door. “Given the state of the food in the mess hall, I’m surprised there hasn’t been an uprising yet.” Theta’s giggle gave her the reassurance she needed to knock.

“Come in!” Their voice was muffled, but the lock clicked, allowing South to step through the door. “Oh – you, just a second, I’m – lunch break.”

She wasn’t sure what she expected, or how she felt about the tone in which the person behind the desk addressed her, but something in the woman’s nonchalance was dangerously disarming. It did not hurt that she was, admittedly, quite lovely to look at. Dark eyes smiled at South between black locs, and it took a moment for her words to register as Theta thwarted his host’s... distraction.

“I said take a seat, there’s an intake form on this clipboard. I’ll be finishing up my lunch if you don’t mind.” She waggled the clipboard over her desk impatiently, but her words held no malice.

“Oh.” South gingerly took the clipboard, realization that she was staring dawning the same moment warmth crept up her face. She decided to keep her helmet on for this meeting. “Oh. Okay.”

“Smooth.”

“Shut up.”

The intake form was, thankfully, a good distraction.

As far as she knew, Charon was covering her bills and so she made a note of such in the insurance section of the form. That usually took the most time, so she moved down the piece of paper

The medical history was easy.

A family history of heart disease on her father’s side, some rare genetic condition he didn’t inherit from his own father. South and her brother were still supposed to have echocardiograms every five years. She was several years behind on that recurring appointment.

Her mother’s side had arthritis and allergies to anesthesia that South lacked. She was, however, allergic to methadone and as a precaution avoided other opioid painkillers. She flipped the paper and frowned.

The psychological history was not going to be as easy.

“Do you want me to tell you what you clinically have, currently qualify for, or…?”

“No.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

Depression? Probably. Anxiety? Maybe. PTSD? Not that she would admit. There were dozens of other conditions she hesitated to move on from, but she plowed ahead. The final section of the paper had a few blank lines and ‘Reason for visit:’ in blurred black ink. She scrawled in her own smudged response ‘shoot range eval.’

“All set?” The psychologist took the clipboard back, eager eyes scanning over the form as South let her own drift to the desk. A framed photo she couldn’t make out from this angle, probably family. A name plate, cheap, that read: Sherry McCormick in faux gilded lettering.

“Alrighty then,” South leaned back in her chair as Sherry shuffled her paper into a filing cabinet behind her desk. “So, how are you doing?”

“Fine, I guess.” Sherry’s eyes were soft and her smile was playful.

“That bad?”

“Just, wishing I could relax in the shooting range.” She bit her tongue, even though she wanted to say: ‘Your boss is an extortionist blackmailing me into working for him, so I would rather not be on this ship at all.’

“You find that relaxing?” There was something sharp but not hostile in Sherry’s words, subtly probing deeper.

“More so than pacing around unarmed.”

“Do you feel unsafe?”

“I’m a soldier on a destroyer in the slipstream in deep space. Better to have a weapon and not need it than to be caught without one.” The answer prompted Sherry to scribble something on her notepad.

“Did you participate in armed combat, during the war?” South rolled her eyes, grateful for her helmet.

“Yes. Who hasn’t? I doubt Hargrove is staffing this place with greenhorns.”

“There’s a few,” Sherry laughed softly, shaking her head. “But fair enough. I wasn’t sure how involved the Freelancer project was in terms of combat.”

South’s blood ran ice cold and Theta grew restless in her mind. Sherry must have noticed the tension in her shoulders; she held up her hands in relaxed surrender.

“Hargrove doesn’t have any helpful records from your project, all I know is that you were an agent, unlike most of the scrubs working here.”

“There are others?” Theta’s voice was small, radiating anxiety and anger and steady calculation to South’s racing thoughts. Others could make it easier to coordinate an escape. Others could complicate any escape plan, no matter how foolproof. South’s own voice was half strangled in her throat.

“What?”

“Oh, um, after the war the, the project’s termination, Charon absorbed a lot of its workforce. Mechanics, pilots, cooks – those sort of people.” Sherry’s eyes flickered to her notepad. “Most of them had limited direct combat experience if any. You’re the only agent I’ve processed.”

A shudder ran through her, realization dawning. The other soldiers weren’t uneasy and tense around her because Hargrove had flaunted her presence or let slip her spotty history. The faceless suits of armor that loaded Pelicans and cleaned blood off the training room floors had traded Freelancer colors for Charon’s. The half-truths and rumors they knew about her were worse than any leaked reports. No wonder half the ship treated her like a time bomb.

“I’ll clear you for weapons, South.” Sherry said after the silence had a moment to settle. “But Hargrove has requested that we keep in regular contact. In case something comes up or you need to talk –”

“Thanks.” She didn’t mean to snap as she snatched at the approved form the moment Sherry offered it, only to have the paper yanked away at the last second.

“I mean it.” There was an intentional snap to Sherry’s voice, commanding but gentle. “I know the others aren’t giving you a particularly warm reception, correct?” South’s nod was stiff and slow, conceding to her point. “Consider me an impartial party. Hargrove may be my boss but he doesn’t have access to my records. Not to mention this room is a black box.”

South checked the corners for cameras, and Theta’s sweep for connected devices illuminated her HUD with a bolded message: ‘No bugs detected.’

“That’s...dangerous.” South finally said, though she would be lying if it wasn’t a reassuring piece of information. No recordings. No traces except for door access logs and Sherry’s filing cabinet. Not a bad safe room to hole up in, if she ever needed one.

“Danger is putting too much control in the hands of one man.” Sherry offered a shy smile, holding out the approved form with careful confidence. “You can trust me. I don’t report to Hargrove directly, none of the medics do either; that’s what the medbay supervisor is for.”

“Doctor-patient confidentiality and all, huh?” South gingerly took the slip of paper from the psychologist’s hand, her gloved fingers numb to its thin weight.

“Completely confidential.” Sherry nodded, gesturing to the door. “If you want to drop in just knock, or you can set up an appointment – you have a datapad, correct? Good – the UI is horrible but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks.” South said again, softer this time as she stood and walked to the door, Sherry’s eyes following her. Watching the glow her neural implant.

“It’s my job, Agent South. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

---

Never had the weight of a semiautomatic felt so good in her hands. The muzzle fire sang a chorus as bullets cut through target after target, bullseyes drilling through the skulls of phantom soldiers. She would have to check out a personal weapon in the armory, but the loaner from the range was enough to satiate that itch in the back of her mind.

More than once Theta did her the courtesy of making an overlay of Hargrove’s smug face for her HUD to project onto targets.

“Are we going to talk to her again?”

“I don’t know.” She put a bullet through the center mass of a target, taking a moment to reload the weapon.

“...What if she wants to talk to you about me?” Theta’s expected spike of stress was soft, a dull blanket of resignation. “What if she wants to talk to me? What...what are we going to do?”

“That’s up to you.” South winced, a few centimeters shy of a perfect shot at the 500m line. “Do...do you want to stay synced? Talking to her or, or just in general?”

‘I don’t want to lose you again’ wasn’t a coherent thought, but something Theta shared in her mind. If they were separated, there was a risk he could be captured again. Used as leverage against her, or she used against him.

“I want to stay synced. Is that, are you’re sure that’s alright? Will Sherry think it’s alright?”

“Who cares what she thinks?”

“You do.” Theta’s accusation was followed by a childish smirk South could feel in her bones. “You want her to like you.”

“Us.” South corrected. “She would be...a useful ally.”

“Hm, an ally?”

“That black box room could be useful.”

“You’re allowed to want friends besides me, you know.” His teasing tugged at a memory of her brother’s voice, his words from another time. The ache was enough to make her lower her weapon for a moment.

“I shouldn’t make friends here.” South’s eyes wandered from her shooting lane, the Charon soldiers making a point to use the lanes at the opposite end of the room. They certainly didn’t want to make friends with her either. “Painful to leave behind at best, liabilities at worst.”

“Yeah, but –”

“Besides, patient-doctor relations are best kept professional.” South reset her firing stance and went back to obliterating targets. “And there’s always a chance she was lying – she could be Hargrove’s lapdog for all we know.”

“She’s not.” Theta’s voice held a familiar but ill-fitting cadence she couldn’t quite place. “Based on her body language and vitals during your meeting, there’s only a 2.4% chance she was lying at any point, the most probable being her mention of never assessing another agent from the project.”

“Wait, so do you think she was lying? That there’s another agent working for Charon?” The thought turned South’s stomach, a brief flicker of Illinois’ face replacing the target she aimed at. It wasn’t one of Theta’s HUD overlays, it was purely her imagination. Her shot barely clipped the edge of the target.

“No – like I said, only a 2.4% chance overall. If she was lying, that was just the most probable statement.”

“Maybe she’s trained to avoid AI lie detection.”

“That’s borderline conspiratorial.” Theta scoffed, though there was a laugh in his voice. “But we’ll only know more about her if we see her again. I’m still banned from accessing the ship’s systems, remember? I can’t just pull up her file, or any of Hargove’s data on the project…”

She could feel the puppy-dog eyes from behind Theta’s helmet, like a kid begging to play in traffic.

“Let’s try and keep Hargrove off our backs a little longer – I did promise you’d keep out of the system.”

“Yeah, long enough for him to install some competent security software.” Theta huffed, arms crossed in childish frustration. “But, but, we have to meet with her in person if that’s the case. Even if we did have access to her files, you know as well as I do that formal documentation rarely tells the full story.”

“Of course.” She couldn’t argue with that logic, being legally dead.

---

wrote this in its entirety the day after I posted the last chapter but waited a month to post this one because. idk man my mind is an enigma even to myself.

[scotianostra]

Reverend Patrick Bell was born on May 12th 1799 at Auchterhouse near Dundee.

Born into a farming family Bell was brought up at the farrm at Mid Leoch and attended Auchterhouse Parish School before going on to study divinity at the University of St Andrews, leading to a career in the clergy.

It’s not as man of god that the good Reverend is remembered for, although he was a good man of the cloth, the reason for this post and how he went down in history is that he came up with an idea that saved a lot of time for farmers the world over in his invention of a reaping machine.

This reaping machine used a revolving 12 vane reel to pull the crop over the cutting knife, that was made from triangular reciprocating blades over fixed triangular blades. A canvas conveyor moved the grain and stalks to the side in a windrow. This machine was pushed by livestock and ran on 2 wheels.

Bell had a very analytical mind and was especially interested in engineering. He installed a gas lighting system at Mid Leoch and even took an interest in the cultivation of sugar beet, growing some and extracting sugar from it a century before the industry came to Scotland.

Many people, historians included, have mistakenly credited Cyrus McCormick of America as the inventor of the reaper in 1831. However it should be Patrick Bell who is recognised as the designer of a machine that was deemed far more efficient and reliable than any previous attempts. Four of his reapers went to America where it is likely they influenced the designs of both McCormick and his contemporary Obed Hussey.

On 10th of September 1828 he demonstrated his invention and later received a favourable report in the “Quarterly Journal of Agriculture” and received a premium of £50 from the Highland Agricultural Society, which barely covered costs.

Being a man of god, Bell did not file for a patent believing that his invention should benefit all. This led to various copies being made that were inferior to the Bell-made machines and they did nothing to encourage widespread usage. However around 10 of Bell’s machines that were sold in east central Scotland were sold in east central Scotland and, as previously mentioned, four crossed the Atlantic, others went to Australia and Poland.

At this time in history labour was still cheap and many farmers did not see the benefit of such a machine, preferring to stay with traditional methods. This was another case of a good invention being too far ahead of its time. However, the Bell machine was to prove itself as far as reliability and longevity was concerned, as the original machine continued for many harvests at Mid Leoch before going to work for many more at his brother’s Inchmichael Farm.

In 1852 it was put in a good state of repair and shown at the Highland Show at Perth where it was thought by many to be the latest machine on the market. However, the Americans eventually began to sell greater quantities of reaping machines no doubt due to their lightness, manoeuvrability and competitive mass-produced pricing.

Meanwhile, now ordained, the Reverend Bell became minister of Carmyllie parish where he continued an interest in engineering, working at his bench at the manse. He remained unaffected by all the clamour that his machine had caused.

The Inchmichael machine, fastidiously looked after by his brother, ended up in the Science Museum in London where it still resides today.

Two contemporary models of the machine were presented to the National Museum and one is on show at the National Museum of Rural Life at Kittochside, East Kilbride. A third was presented by his daughters to the agricultural department of Aberdeen University.

Today’s combine harvester has thus developed from the work of two ingenious Scotsmen - it is a combination of Andrew Meikle’s threshing mechanism and Patrick Bell’s reaper.

[wandawillkill312]

Apex Legends OC Bio: “Spellbinder”- Hypnotic High-Roller (Revised version).

The Apex Games were in for a rare treat; when they got Spellbinder: An actual Human, from planet Earth!

Hailing from planet Earth- which in my headcanons is still going strong and still doing well-; Hal Braxton grew up wealthy; due to his parents starting, owning and running a luxurious hotel and resort, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Yet he had one dream and one dream only: to be incredibly famous and have his name be known, chanted and cheered for, across the universe.

Fast-Forward to his early 20s; Hal was given a chance to make his dream happen, when he discovered future Hyperfighting Champion: Jimmy McCormick- better known as “The Forge”-, and became his manager, head coach and “Flame-Themed” hype-man, known as “Lord Vulcan.”

Hal also became a musician on the side; producing 3 albums, 4 gold records and a number of music videos- which Jimmy has starred in.

It was a struggle; but once Jimmy started moving up the ranks of the Hyperfighting Federation; life was smooth-sailing for both him and Hal.

Especially since Hal also became accustomed to the other side of the Hyperfighting world- the dark, seedy and ruthless side, filled with cold-hearted bastards, who have done a lot of shady things to earn their place.

Unfortunately for them; Hal also had a dream of living the life of a High-Rolling Gangster- like the ones in old movies and TV shows, he’d watch as a kid.

But here’s the twist: he wanted to do it legally- up to the point, where he was secretly celebrated for it by most of Olympus.

Once he and Jimmy traveled to Psamathe; to compete in the Olympus Circuit, Hal started making moves- on 7 of the most notorious crime families that ruled over the city- Plus a corrupt News Reporter and her equally corrupt Preacher husband.

Luckily for Hal; he found something that would help him- especially as “Lord Vulcan.”

History time!

Years before the events of the Apex Games; the planet known as “Eden”, was home to a large village full of battle-hardened former soldiers-turned farmers, who lived a life of peace and happiness.

They cared deeply for the planet the lived on and never paid any mind to IMC employees moving to their planet.

That is…until oil was discovered, there and the mining began- at the expense of half the planet.

Not wanting their livelihood to be ruined anymore than it already was; the villagers took up arms once again, started an organization known as “God’s Hand” and waged war on IMC.

Credit where credit was due; the soldiers of “God’s Hand” were actually formidable opponents- before and after they stole and quickly mastered IMC weapons, robots and tech.

They fought with extreme ferocity; withstood everything- including chemical warfare-, and saw through every one of IMC’s tricks- including their so-called “peace offering” of food- which was poisoned.

Unfortunately; nothing lasts forever and that rang true for “God’s Hand”, as IMC came up with a new line of robots, just for them: “Project: Hellfire.”

“Project Hellfire” consisted of these deadly assassin droids:

“Imps”: Saboteur drones fitted with teleportation technology programmed to leave behind small orbs of unstable energy that caused explosions liken to that of a car bomb.

“Hellhounds”: “Canine-like” drones outfitted with flaming bodies and rotating blades for teeth, that were designed to relentlessly pursue and kills their targets, no matter the distance and obstacles.

“Devils”: Winged assault droids equipped with built-in machine gun turrets, flamethrowers and grenade launchers- also served as Kamikazes.

“Orcs”: Heavily-armored, 4-Armed, Hulking Murder Machines fitted with enough weapons to supply an entire infantry- think Goro from Mortal Kombat, but bigger with armor and a variety of weapons.

“Furies (Fyu-Rees)”: Female assault droids that exhume and cover themselves in red-hot flames and thick black poisonous smoke and possess long and razor sharp claws.

“Banshees”: Female assault droids fitted with sonic technology; designed to shatter eardrums, pop eyeballs, rupture nasal passages and explode bowels.

“Succubi”: Female infiltrator droids that are equipped with built-in camouflage and shapeshifting technology, as well as the ability to distribute an airborne and highly intoxicating pheromone that renders their victims mesmerized and under their control- it also doubles as a flesh-eating virus that lasted for 15 minutes, before dying out, from starvation.

And finally…

“Ghouls”: Murderous droids able to burrow underground and rise up to either strike or drag you down to your death.

Equipped with razor sharp claws and built-in tentacles fitted with a different surgical tool, as they were also tasked with collecting the organs and blood from either dead or dying enemies.

Believe it or not; one Ghoul is present in the Apex Games- and this one is not an OC.

Guess who it is.

Give up? Here:

And no. Revenant doesn’t know about any of this.

If you’re wondering why he doesn’t have tentacles, claws and burrowing abilities, it’s because Hammond removed all of that, before downloading his mind, into the robotic body.

Project Hellfire; proved to be effective, by wiping out half of God’s Hand and capturing the others to be tried, sentenced and imprisoned.

Once their job was done; Project Hellfire was shut down, with the droids deactivated and placed in multiple storage facilities, all across the Outlands.

Back to the main story!

One of those storage facilities was on Psamathe- which Hal came across and purchased to use as part of his army- after making sure they couldn’t be hacked, of course.

Donning a hi-tech and terrifying, yet elegant Red Devil mask and injecting himself with nanotechnology that allowed him to generate, control and manipulate fire; Hal Braxton became “Hellfire Hal” and used his new powers and army, to wipe out the 7 crime families of Psamathe, by murdering the leaders in ways based on each of their personalities- which he linked to the Seven Deadly Sins- as well as committing two murders centered around the 8th and 9th Deadly Sins: “Fraudulence” and “Treachery.”

Hal had to take care of that news reporter and preacher, after all…remember?

He was very creative with colors, animals and punishments for all 9 of them.

Hal also used cold Mafia tactics to kill most of their underlings and spy tactics to expose and help put away just the right number of dirty cops, officials and politicians- not enough to draw attention from secret upper-class criminals, like Lifeline’s parents, that would force them to get involved.

Long story short; “Hellfire Hal” and his army known as “The Brimstone Cartel”, managed to drive out the remaining members of the 7 crime families out of Psamathe and was secretly celebrated, for it- little did he know, they would eventually join forces with each other and form “The Forgotten Families”- a group that Apex Legends character “Newcastle” would eventually come across and make a deal with.

So in a way…Newcastle’s arrival to the games, was Hal’s doing.

Hal did all of this; while maintaining his public image, keeping up with his rockstar career, moving to Olympus to form connections there and still managing Jimmy- training him, hyping him up and helping take him further to the top.

Speaking of Jimmy; they were best friends, as Hal had his back and vice-versa.

Jimmy knew of Hal’s “activities”, but was reassured by him, as Hal wasn’t part of the Mafia- which he wasn’t. He just utilized their tactics- and some of his own, against them.

Think “The Green Hornet”- your grandparents will probably know who that is.

Plus; not only did Hal make sure the Hyperfighting fights were always clean, when it came to fights against Jimmy, but he also made a deal with both Hammond Robotics and Octavio Silva and got Jimmy into the Apex Games, so it was all good- especially in an interview, where they took turns taking shots at some of the competing legends- especially Elliot Witt. AKA, “Mirage.”

They went all out on him…

Unfortunately; all good things must come to an end, and in this case, the end came in the form of Revenant killing Jimmy on live TV- which is canon, if you’ve read Forge’s bio.

Hal wasn’t present; due to him being arrested and in jail, for viciously assaulting a photographer for trying to see Jimmy showering.

Jimmy’s death caused Hal to become incredibly depressed; leave the Hyperfighting business and seemingly vanish from the public eye- especially after the heads of the Hyperfighting Federation, treated Jimmy like a replaceable tool and tried pawning his rival Ricardo Falcone. AKA, “Raging Bull”, off on Hal and he got angry.

2 years later; Hal resurfaced, under the name “Hypno-Hal”, after secretly returning to Earth, traveling to Egypt, Greece, Romania, China, Japan, Vietnam and India, learning their unique forms of mysticism and hypnosis techniques and then coming back to America and inventing hypnosis technology and realistic solid light construct technology.

He started a web series; as an assassin/bounty hunter and it became popular- especially after returning to Psamathe and started eliminating criminals and mob bosses, who crawled out of the woodwork, when Hal left.

During one of his contracts; he rescued Loba- who was on one of her “after-game heists” and they instantly hit it off, as partners- and lovers.

They struck a deal; where he joins the games and helps her get revenge on Revenant for killing her parents and for killing Jimmy.

Not to mention; he is also unsatisfied with Mirage and wants to show the public how it’s done, when it comes to illusions- meaning that he and Elliot will have a heated rivalry.

The same goes for him vs. Bloodhound and Catalyst, in terms of mysticism and him against Revenant, for obvious reasons.

Now going by “Spellbinder”; he auditioned for the games and got in, with his flair, flashy moves and impressive abilities- along with some star power and connections, he still had.

Whether they’re ready or not; the Legends are about to “See the Wizard”- and none of them will be prepared for the tricks Spellbinder has up his sleeves.

It’s SHOWTIME!!!

Real name: Hal “Hellfire” Braxton.

Age: 34.

Home World: Earth- later Psamathe (Olympus- but he also has his own backup luxury home on Dionysus.)

Class: Controller.

Tactical Ability: “Look Into My Eyes.”

Passive Ability: “Seeing is Believing.”

Ultimate Ability" “Wizard’s Wrath.”

Facial and body appearance: Hal is an “Adonis-level” handsome, 34 year old Caucasian-American male about with soft, smooth and polished, lightly tanned fair skin, glistening green eyes, shiny teeth, perfectly kissable lips, a rugged jawline, a cleft chin and a full head of thick, shiny and voluminous, Chocolate brown and butterbeer yellow swirl hair styled into an awesome, high and swirly- but not overly exaggerated-, anime pompadour with neatly-trimmed sideburns.

He also has a tall, lean and sculpted, muscular figure, decorated with a few circuit lines and an awesome 80s Power Metal tattoo mural, on his chest.

Costume: As “Spellbinder”; Hal’s costume consists of: a snap-on, metallic whitish-silver Elvis cape that stops in the middle of his thighs and has a metallic red interior, glittery gold flame embroidery and a bejeweled image of a Phoenix on the back.

This is worn over; a double-breasted, shiny white and metallic gold, hard leather biker jacket with gold zippers, shiny brass studs in the lapels, a big, wide and popped-up high collar- but not too high, that his head can be see from the back-, glittery gold, brass and bright copper fringe and iridescent whitish-silver mystic smoke embroidery on the sleeves and a logo of a sexy Angel-Siren made of gold light with glittery hypno swirl eyes, airbrushed mystic smoke and a Witch’s pentagram on her forehead.

A mid-thigh-length shiny lavender silk scarf/clergy stole; with a gold hypno swirl stencil design, is draped over the jacket “Elvis style.”

The jacket is zipped-up halfway and worn over a matching “Elvis Presley Aloha Jumpsuit-inspired”, hard leather racing suit with glittery flame embroidery, zipped-up halfway over a shiny candy apple red silk button-up shirt with gold flame designs, mystic smoke embroidery and the top buttons open- showing his pecs, a little.

Not to mention; he also wears; a burnt copper faux gator skin belt with a snap-on gold, white and obsidian buckle made to look like a Hypno-Swirl, a pair of shiny metallic bright copper, hard leather gauntlet gloves with gold flame embroidery- both the jacket and suit sleeves are tucked into them-, and a pair of knee-high, polished, square-toed, metallic bright copper, hard leather biker boots with gold zippers, bottoms and gold, flame-themed embroidery- the pant legs are tucked into them.

Finally; he wears a decent amount of dazzling, “Hypno-themed”, Rockstar/Magician jewelry- including a gold, white diamond-dusted platinum, ivory and obsidian medallion made to look like a hypno-swirl-, a pair of hi-tech, ruby-encrusted, gold-framed, glittery black and white hypno-swirl square goggles and a set of holsters and sheaths filled with hi-tech and compact gadgets, tools and weapons- half of them are made to look “magic-based.”

His costume also has some “Mystical Wizard Aesthetics”, to its design.

Abilities: First and foremost, let me just say that Hal is not OP!

For example; “Spellbinder” is weak against attacks from Caustic, Wraith, Fuse, Revenant, Bangalore, Newcastle and Ballistic.

Plus his tactical ability, takes 30 seconds to replenish.

Now with that out of the way; Hal is part of the “Controller” class and these are his powers:

Tactical: “Look into my Eyes”

Spellbinder can either use his nanotech implants, goggles or 3 drones made to look like beach ball-sized eyeballs surrounded by holographic mystic smoke; to hypnotize his enemies and make them his unwilling slaves.

One of his drones is inhabited by an A.I. named “Esmeralda”- or “Mera”, for short- you’ll find out why, she’s called “Esmeralda”, if you choose to RP, with me.

She can talk, think, etc.

Mera can also control the other 2 eye drones; and even hack into the drones of other characters, funneling her hypnotic powers through their ocular units and into the eyes of their owners.

Once they’re Hypnotized; Spellbinder’s slaves will act as a small “wall”, to attack other opponents/defend him and his team- or serve as ambush traps to get the drop on opponents.

This also works on robots, such as Spectres.

“Mera” and the other eye drones can also fire lasers and small missiles and hack into any broadcast system to use any large screen or holographic sign as another trap to hypnotize players.

She can also upgrade or rework the weapons of him and his teammates.

Take the “EVA-8” shotgun, for example.

She can make it a little bigger, give it a glowing purple aura, around it, give it a semi-bigger drum with extended ammo and equip it with an M203 Grenade Launcher, underneath the barrel.

Not only that; but rather than your typical single shot- or rapid 2-shot-; the upgraded Eva-8 would now fire multiple shots in a rapid pace, like a Thompson Submachine Gun- or “Tommy Gun”-, from the 1930s- which would be fitting, since it has a drum magazine, like one.

Spellbinder’s slaves can be awakened; if his Hypnosis wears off, after 30 minutes or if either all 3 drones are destroyed or if he’s killed, before it wears off.

As stated before; it takes 30 seconds to replenish.

Passive: “Seeing is Believing”

Like Mirage; Spellbinder can also create illusions.

The only differences are that Hal’s illusions are made of solid light- meaning they can and will kill you!

And they can be anything, not just clones of himself.

Not to mention; that he can create illusionary dream scenarios within the minds of his victims, to either torture them, motivate them or keep them complacent, while he’s commanding them to fight, in the real world.

Either by creating a nightmarish world for them to fight and survive or creating a fantasy world for them to indulge in.

Whatever he subjects players to; his illusions will trigger all five of their senses, making the experience highly real, for them.

He can also use his illusions to “hack” into his victim’s minds and use their memories, fears and desires as bases for his illusionary worlds.

Ultimate: “Wizard’s Wrath”

Back in his days as “Lord Vulcan”; Hal’s theme was fire- because Jimmy was called “The Forge”- which is associated with heat-, so Hal wore a lot of “Flame-colored and themed” clothing- which paired well with his mask, when he was “Hellfire Hal.”

Not only that; he also had nanotechnology injected into his body, giving him the ability to generate, control and manipulate fire- without burning himself.

As “Spellbinder”; he can utilize that on the battlefield, as a backup power, when his drones are out of commission.

Hal is also skilled in boxing, wrestling, Martial Arts, Karate, marksmanship, swordsmanship, acrobatics, hacking and engineering.

Heirlooms: Spellbinder’s Heirlooms, so far are:

“The Headliner”: A futuristic hi-tech “Scepter-like” microphone from his “Lord Vulcan” days- but given an upgrade to match his new theme- ; that is also a “Swiss Army-esque” weapon that has a backup hypnotic device/illusion-caster, a sound cannon, a laser ray, a plasma energy whip, a knife, etc.

Voice Actor: His VA would be Jeff Bennett- if you’ve heard of him.

Just picture Johnny Bravo, without the Elvis accent.

And then with an occasional Cajun one.

His Mom is from New Orleans and his dad is from Texas.

Personality: Hal is a master showman, treating every battle like a big performance.

He is also a flashy, loud and boisterous con-man.

A wheeler and a dealer; able to sweet talk you into doing what he says- without his hypnotic powers.

Hal is also good-neutral, but he can still be an arrogant jerk.

He’s like Johnny Cage, before he became humble.

This is especially true, when it comes to him and Mirage.

He can also be a bit hedonistic- especially when it comes to women-, but he would never cheat on Loba and is accepting of her being bisexual.

Hal also loves to sing, dance, paint, sculpt, learn magic tricks and mythology, collect military weapons and vehicles to copy and make working upgraded replicas of said items and cook.

He is also proud of his Cajun heritage- as well as his Texan one.

Though; he’s more of a Raiders fan, than a Saints or a Cowboys fan, like each of his parents.

Hal also has a bit of a short fuse and a fiery temper- especially towards people like Revenant.

He’s also racist towards simulacrums and regular robots- but not towards A.I.’s, Cyborgs and Androids-, as he believes that robots are meant to serve Humanity and nothing else.

Oh and he’s a huge fan of Elvis Presley- but not to the point of obsession.

That is all I have, so far.

@multi-muse-transect 

@trenhead 

@legendwoven​ 

((Yeah, I had to make a new revised version with a few changes and additions.

Sorry...))