#no cause i actually wish it could cause..my fellow strategist WHY ARE YOU IN THE FRONTLINES

[shibaleeart]

What if Bucky's hook also worked like FFXIV's healer Rescue where you can pull your teammates out of shit

[toongal1998]

This drawing took forever to complete, but I am pretty satisfied with how it turned out. The first version is one without shading and second is it the one with shading added. (The quality is better if you click on it.) I came up with the idea after rewatching the old Justice Ducks’s episode, as well as being imspired by DT17’s “Let’s get Dangerous!” special and listening to the classic Og teen Titans theme on repeat also sparked a lot of imagination. The only outfits I didn’t come up with are Lena’s, Boyd’s and Louie’s which already exist the show. I thought about each kids’s strengths and personalities when designing the other costumes as well what kind of powers/roles they would play and what kinda relationship they would have with their super mentors for this au.

• First up we have everyone’s favorite sassy magical teen, Lena. Her magical girl type outfit is what used for her hero costume. I tried my best to get the colors right so I hope it looks good. Lena’s role on the team is The Magical Brawler, with her using magical energy blasts, as well as allusions and brute force to defeat her opponents. She also doesn’t have a hero name like the others and just goes by Lena. (This is mostly because her magic protects her secret identity or something.) She and Quiverwing are the snarkiest towards the villains, especially if their evil plans are really stupid.

• She acts as a cool older sister figure to other kids on the team and is one of the most proactive on the team, with her answer to fighting a villain usually being “let’s beat them up” which can sometimes land her into trouble if she’s not careful. She’s very protective of Webby and Her younger (adopted) sister, Violet. So word to the wise evil doers, do not under any circumstances attack/harm either girl or you will be in a world of agonizing magical pain.

• Being oldest on the team as well as one of the most pessimistic/emotionally guarded at times, she tends to be a little more jaded to the whole hero worship thing the other kids have going towards The Justice Ducks. Her mentor/teacher is technically Morgana Macawber. In the beginning she was very distrustful towards the older magic user due to the woman’s past actions as a villain, as well as Lena’s own hang up’s with Magica. However, She eventually warms up to the sorceress after she sees how while having questionable morals at times, is still a good person who genuinely cares about her and Vi as not only her students/sidekicks, but her surrogate kids as well. (Morgana definitely joins the ‘these aren’t technically my kids, but I’m adopting them. You can’t stop me club.’)

• After that, their relationship starts to get better, but Lena still has her more rebellious impulses which causes her to be a bit more difficult when interacting with her mentor. She will argue with her about things like “Seriously! Why should it matter if my magic is still ‘developing’?! I can totally handle my Own magic, thank you very much! Now let’s stop gabbing and take down this creep before he overruns the whole city!” (Stuff like that.)

• Let’s move on to Webby or as she’s better known in the crime fighting world, Gummi Gal! So, it was a little difficult to figure out what kinda hero she would be, but after i decided to go with combining her spy training with her gummi juice powers, from “From the confidential files from agent 22” everything else just clicked. (Please note that I’m vaguely familiar with original gummi bears, I’m going off of ducktales 17 interpretation of it so if I get anything wrong, that’s why.)

• First let’s talk about the costume. I wanted to give her something that showed her personality as both a trained combat and espionage expert, as well as a excitable sweet munchkin who loves glitter and friendship bracelets. I based the colors off her regular pallet and added the cherry red parts to allude back to the gummi berry juice. The costume is made from super rubbery stretchy protective material either invented by S.H.U.S.H, prier or Team science to keep our super adorable rubber ball of death safe from villains when her gummi powers wear off, while also giving her a boost in battle while trying to beat up said baddies. Her red bow is the same material as the outfit, I gave her a pink mask, cause that’s her favorite color (also I wanted her to have a different mask color from Gosalyn and Huey.) and her utility belt is filled with other gadgets as well extra vials of juice in cases of emergencies. Not to mentioned she finally got her own Action Cane and still has her trusty grappling hook if things get too crazy.

• Webby’s role in the team is definitely combative close ranged fighter and The Heart of The Team. She’s already a beast in hand to hand combat, but when she drinks her gummi berry juice, she becomes a unstoppable springy force of power and agility, that can really give the villains a headache. She’s the most encouraging and affectionate on team always giving her fellow teammates hugs or high fives whenever she can. Her biggest weakness has to be her willingness to trust people at their word, being a little naive to harsh truths of the world cause she wants to see the good in others. She’s a badass, but an idealistic at her core and just wants to make the world a more happier place.

• Webby’s hero mentor is the Moon’s greatest warrior, Penumbra. Penny is at first confused by Small Della’s odd abilities, but adapts pretty quickly. They train a lot together and Penny teaches the young earther tricks she picked up from living on the moon where the gravity is very different from earth. This helps Webby get better at controlling where she wants to bounce when using her powers. Penny is pretty protective of all of the small Dellas and will be pretty aggressive towards those who try to harm them.

• Huey was easy I just made him updated version of his Gizmoduck costume with more of an emphasis of protection and practicality. I decided to give him a mask underneath his visor, because I believe he would definitely wear it as an extra precaution so villains don’t figure out his secret identity. (Even though it’s pretty obvious who these kids are, if you’re any paying attention.) I added a magnetic electro pulse glove blaster (sorry if the science doesn’t make much sense.) as well as magnetic boots, so he can better stay on Boyd’s back in battle and flight. (I was mostly inspired by Hiro from big hero 6 for that.)

• He uses the blaster to send magnetic frequency waves at his enemies. He can also grab things from a distance as a nod to his safety first mindset. His role on the team is occasionally the leader (there’s a bit of conflict with that issue.) and most importantly the thing he prides himself on, The Strategist. He’s great at analyzing situations and coming up with strategies, but can still over think things to his detriment. He clashes the most with Louie on the team as he feels his brother isn’t taking his role very seriously and Gosalyn as she not the best team player. He still looks up to Gizmoduck as his mentor, which drives him to prove himself as a competent leader and crime fighter in his hero’s eyes. Finally his hero name I think would either be Pulse or Gizmokid. Mostly I’m leaning on Pulse, cause I think it distinguishes him from Giz and let’s him make a name for himself as a hero in his own right, not just stuck in someone else’s shadow. (Though the bad guys will probably just call him, Gizmobrat to spite him.)

• (With Boyd I had trouble with getting his coloring just right so if it looks off, that’s why.) Boyd is the technically the youngest on the team in both appearance and mentality. He’s a sweet precious totally real boy that everyone instantly loves...well almost everyone. Louie, is at first a little heistent to be around him, but knows what happened at Doofus’s party wasn’t his fault so doesn’t hold it against him. He’s one of the easiest to trick out of the whole team which makes prime target for scheming villains to mess with. However, don’t underestimate this little powerhouse or you’ll regret it. He’s closest with Huey, with him being the first real friend the little tyke has ever known. (Dr. Gearloose is more of a parental figure then anything.) They can often be seen coming up with plans or just having fun learning stuff together. His hero mentor is Gizmoduck as well, but he also quickly warms up to Gandra. (who may or not be a anti hero in this au.)

• Gosalyn’s/Quiverwing’s costume was little harder to figure out. I kept going back and forth from a modern vs classic look, until I finally settled on a compromise that felt right. I do wish I made the cape more like Darkwing’s and drew a more modern looking bow, but other then that I think it came out pretty good. Her logo I’m especially proud of. Her role on the team is definitely the sharp shooter archer and weapons expert. I like to think she’s kinda like what if Batgirl was a archer. She likes to come up new weapons and gadgets to use on the bad guys. She’s the second oldest after Lena, making her also an older sister figure to the younger kids. Her mentor is Darkwing Duck, she loves being his crime fighting partner, but wishes she get more chances to really show her stuff and not be babied all the time by her guardian. This causes her to be one of the first kids to disobey the adult heroes when they say to stay out of something. Like that will stop her.

• Dewey was the hardest when designing what kinda hero he would be. At first, I thought of giving him a magical legendary sword that could change forms depending on what was needed, sorta as a way to mirror Dewey’s creativity and ever changing interests. However, I also felt he shouldn’t need to be ‘chosen’ by something to be a hero, so now the sword is actually something that he had to have create himself, but it also happens to be a magical shape-shifting weapon?.... (honestly if anyone has any better ideas, please help me, I totally except suggestions.)

• I gave him a costume similar to his God of Dance/Champ Popular personas with a blue Darkwing inspired cape. (Admit it, Dewey you actually love the show!) I added some protective chest armor, also gave him a angel wings and stars motif. His hero name if haven’t already guessed is Daring Dew. His role on the team is kinda the wild card/funny guy as well as a lancer to the more focused sometimes leader, Pulse. If I had to give an example of his role then probably something similar to beast boy from Og teen Titans or The flash from the justice league. He’s usually the first one to try and lighten the mood when something goes wrong, but he has his moments of Insecurites that causes him to doubt himself.

• He’s unique case as he doesn’t really have a official heroic mentor and just kinds bounces around from person to person depending on the day. Not that anyone dislikes the kid, but because he just finds them all so cool that he can’t pick one. (Basically, you know how your favorite avenger changes every week, it’s kinda like that.) He gets along best with Darkwing though and is kinda like his unofficial second sidekick. However, he does love spending time training with The Duck Avenger. He does seem familiar though, he just doesn’t know how. Hymmm. I wonder why.......

• Violet was also a tough one. Do I go with tech based weaponry, superpowers, space themed or magic? Nonetheless, I decided to combine her junior woodchuck survival skills and her magical quick study abilities to make her sorta of Magical Green lantern with an alchemist twist. I wanted to give her own way to do magic without having to use Lena’s powers or Magica’s emulet as a crutch. Her book on her belt is an ancient spell book filled with mystical runes and incantations that she uses to create magical contructs like weapons to battle her opponents. I gave her a teal green cloak, (mostly cause I was inspired by OG raven Teen Titans) a teal mask to hide her identity, light teal gloves and a rune turquoise stone that help channel her own magical abilities when she using her spell book.

• For her hero name I kinda like Light Saber (Disney technically owns Star Wars, so they could use the name.) or Guidelight (kinda like play on her junior woodchuck guide book.)

• Violet is the supernatural expert and living encyclopedia of the team. Something tells me she would do extensive research on all the justice Ducks’s known villains and would keep record of all of the info she gathered on the subjects. I have a headcanon that after “Let’s Get Dangerous” happened in this universe she would watch hours upon of the old darkwing Duck show while taking notes to better understand the full extent of the fearsome four’s backgrounds and abilities. Morgana, like Lena is also her hero mentor. They get along pretty well. She loves learning new spells from older sorceress who is more then happy to help the other with her knowledge on the subject.

• finally last, but never least, Louie! First off I drew him in his simple green hoodie with a dress shirt and tie. (Kid is pretty lazy when it comes to heroic theatrics.) His role on the team is The schemer and self proclaimed, Young Justice Ducks manager. Louie doesn’t really go by any alias and doesn’t wear a mask, cause in his mind there’s not much of point since no one really take them seriously anyways. They’re the kiddie sidekicks club in a lot of people’s eyes, so they don’t get much media attention compared to their mentors.

• If he’s not ‘training’ with his mentor, Storkules, or just hanging out with his teammates, then he’s scamming villains out of their stolen loot or finding new ways to try and get the Young Justice Ducks name out there. He probably takes the whole being a hero thing the least seriously out of everyone on the team, mostly because the adults are always their to save the day and take all the fire, so why not focus on building a solid following and use their obscurity to their advantage against the villains. ( To be honest I really couldn’t figure out what kinda hero he would be. I think maybe later on he could regain his godly gold touch powers, though much more limited this time with them being on a timer of or something. If anyone has any better ideas for him, please send them my way)

Anyways, thanks for reading. Again, if you have any suggestions, questions or ideas please feel free to share them. See ya!

[lostintransport]

(Headcanon meme) What was their first time meeting Megatron like? What inspired them to become a Decepticon?

//under readmore for length! Rosehip's is above the readmore though.

Rosehip:

"You know, I wish I could say it was some...awe inspiring moment when I first met Lord Megatron. In reality, we walked past each other in the hall, I saluted him in a really sarcastic manner, made some insulting joke about his vain aft second, he laughed and then moved on. I never spoke to him again, but I'd see him sometimes. On the battlefield shouting orders, on a screen givin' a speech. Honestly, I dealt more with the lower scale commanders before becoming one myself."

"As for what inspired me...I used to be a cop, or enforcer, however you wanna spin that, and I saw all sorts of slag go down. Corrupt cops, corrupt senators bribing those cops into silence whenever a nice pretty mech was found dead in one of their high end apartments, carriers ripped away from their kids 'cause they had to make ends meet and the only thing they had to sell was their body."

"...I quit that job because eventually I realized there was no changing a system that was made up of the very people fighting to keep it that way."

"The only way to change somethin' that big was to take the whole thing down and build it back up from the ground, from nothin'. I got into that system with the belief that we were keepin' people safe, that we were the good guys, y'know? When I realized that was wrong, I turned 'round and became a medic to try and help with the aftermath of the stuff I couldn't stop on my own. So...I guess I was inspired by the desire to help others. Megatron gave us a way to finally take down the system and make a new, better one. It felt like a good cause. It just felt right."

"I guess we went wrong somewhere along the way, though."

Legion:

"Oh, well, I never met Megatron. Never worked on any of the bases he ever visited, but I'd see that seeker fellow he kept around, Star-somethin', hangin' around the medbay and complaining. Always felt bad for him. He didn't seem like a happy mech, like a lot of slag was weighin' him down. War can be harsh on everyone, even a mech like that."

"And, honestly, I was a back alley medic when the war began. I lost my license after I helped this poor carrier pay her sparkling's clinic bill, apparently 'helping the addicts and criminals pay off debts' was against the law and I got booted. Jokes on them, when I left to set up an illegal practice in Kaon, half our patients went with me. The system that was in place was horrible, it was killing people or puttin' 'em in so much debt they killed themselves workin' so hard to pay it off. It was better to go to someone workin' in a dingy shack than a real clinic with updated tools and software."

"I joined the Decepticons 'cause some pretty damn good scientists went to 'em. Figured after everything, I could convince 'em to give me my license back and let me practice medicine without chargin' an arm and a leg. What the captain said - wanted to help mechs, not grind 'em down."

"Oh, and that carrier's jus' fine if you're wonderin'. Got her off to a great lil colony before the real slag hit the fan. Her sparkling's a fine young mech now, I'd reckon."

Spawnfire:

"...I went to one of Megatron's speeches once, right before we all went off planet. Never got to talk to him, though. I doubt he'd have listened to a little guy like me, but the way he talked about the stuff going on...the injustice, the inequality...I watched my carrier work himself to death trying to pay off a debt to some medic that helped rewire my dead optics into a visor so I could see."

"I was so damn angry about that...nobody should have to do that just so their kids can live full lives, y'know? I signed up for the army the day my carrier died. I wanted to make him proud, and I knew he'd spit on the Autobot's Prime and shoot himself in the pedes before he gave them a lick a support."

Chargestone:

"Never met him, didn't want to. He had the right idea, and I liked what he said and what he wrote, but honestly? I always thought he was just a nice figure head. He didn't look like the type of mech to write that stuff, or care about the little guy, it always felt like someone else was making him say everything, like a script. But anyway...good ideals, good cause, good leaders. Joining was just the right choice, nothin' inspired me. Now git, I got work to do!"

Technicolor:

"No, I never met Megatron, not directly anyway. I was in the same room as him and someone brought up the battle plan I had drawn up. He liked it and even told me I was very intelligent, had his second put me on as another strategist. Didn't last, of course, tempers run hot between seekers and grounders, and I was the only seeker in my base. Got demoted quicker than that old Screamer could declare himself leader."

"Vos. Vos inspired me. I was there. I saw the towers go down, I had to watch my kin go down in flames as they tried to flee. Why wouldn't I join the Decepticons after seeing what the council was willing to do to us? I still...I still dream about it....I feel like I can still hear them screaming as they fell...."

Moth & Beetle:

"Never met Megatron, first mech we met when we left our hive was Rosehip, he's the one that recruited us and painted the emblems on our arms."

"Yeah, what Moth said! Rosehip told us about the war, and he seemed to believe in the cause so deeply, and he was so passionate about how we were all created to help each other and be kind, not to cause pain and stuff and how the war was for a better future...it just...y'know, how could we not join him and become Decepticons?"

Vice:

"Oh, haha, I don't actually know? I was created after the war started. My...my carrier was an Autobot. I don't know what happened, but a lot of people said she was a traitor, that she stopped an execution so they killed her too....I didn't really know her, though. The Autobots didn't know about me, either. Carrier hid me from them. I think she was right to, when they found out she'd had a sparkling in secret, and with a seeker no less, they were so...so mad."

"I tried to leave an-and....I've never flown before. Hit a storm, and then there was an Autobot security mech coming after me - I crashed real bad, but I got away. I met a Decepticon recruiter at the port after I got fixed up, and he told me his ship was full, but he knew a mech that'd take care of me. Then Rosehip came and picked me up. I always thought the Autobots were cruel, even though they said it was the 'Cons that were evil."

"I've never felt safer than on the Nine. They're like a family to me. I bet it's like this on every Decepticon ship, if everyone is like the Nine's crew."

[thecorteztwins]

Fabian Cortez vs The Serpent Society

[Context: During the early 90s, Fabian was not only leader of the Acolytes, but a member of the Upstarts as well. Long story short, the Upstarts were a sort of supervillain competition between rich young bored mutants, refereed by the telepathic “Gamesmaster” who put forth the tasks and awarded the points.] “You see, Gamesmaster?” Fabian proclaimed with dramatic pride as he held up the glittering cube, “I, the Supreme Mutant, have succeeded where all the other Upstarts have failed! I have conquered all obstacles in my path with grand ease! I have obtained the---wait, what was it called again?” “The MacGuffin”, explained the telepathic projection of the Gamesmaster, a bald omnipath who shockingly was NOT Charles Xavier despite their similiar powers and hairless heads. “But you need do more than that, Fabian Cortez. To win this challenge, you need not only obtain it...but hold on to it for the next 24 hours.” “Pfft”, scoffed the Supreme Mutant with utmost confidence, “That is no challenge at all!” “Let us see how you feel 24 hours from now” said the Gamesmaster, as the psychic vision faded away from Fabian’s eyes. Fabian, however, was undaunted, “24 hours from now---I will have my reward!” *** Though twenty four hours had not yet passed even halfway yet, Fabian had decided to gloat and celebrate in advance. He took out the Cava---only Americans though champagne was classy---cranked up the hot tub, and, MacGuffin beside him within his reach, turned on the hologram projector above the bubble where he watched. Ah, it was like a vision of things to come---including him---once he was finally given his due.  He had just started to really relax when security klaxon sounded, accompanied by the sound of a woman cursing. No, several women! “Mamba, I thought you got them all!” “Asp’s sting blasts are what were supposed to disable them!” “Will you two bimbos stop yer bickering?! He’s gonna hear us!” “Something tells me he’s already aware we are here, Anaconda.” To Fabian Cortez, brilliant schemer and strategist that he was, it was obvious what was happening.  And he was ready for it. *** “Keep your guard up, ladies”, warned Asp as she and her two comrades slunk through the building, “The alarm is off. He knows we’re here. Yet nothing has yet happened. That in itself is suspc---” She was cut off by a booming, bombastic voice. “LADIES!”

On the platform above, a spotlight suddenly shown down. Standing upon the former and under the latter was a tall muscular redheaded man,wering naught a tiny towel around his waist, and a cape around his shoulders. Said cape was blowing backwards despite lack of wind, as was his lustrously conditioned ponytail. “Get him, Ana!” yelled Black Mamba. “I ain’t touchin that guy,” protested Anaconda, the muscle of their outfit, “He’s naked!” “I know what you have come for,” Fabian continued at the trio, flipping his hair dramatically, his gaze smoldering. “Then hand it over, pretty boy!” snarled Anaconda. Fabian smirked, “Gladly.” And he removed towel. Asp screamed, firing a venom blast in shock. Sadly, her distress caused her to miss her target, and she only singed the wall behind him. “What are you doing?!” Black Mamba demanded “He’s---he’s---” Asp was covering her eyes. “Not you---YOU!” Black Mamba pointed at Fabian while shielding her own gaze as well with her other hand. “Put your towel back on, are you crazy?!” It wasn’t that the women had never seen a dick before. Hell, Mamba was once a professional escort, Asp was an exotic dancer at a strip club, and Anaconda, despite frequently being stereotyped as playing for the other team, had been caught more than once making out with Puff Adder. So they were none of them blushing virgins. But dammit, there was a time and a place for dicks!  “This is what you have come for is it not?” Fabian smirked at his own display,   “Or...will come for.” “Ana please!” Asp pleaded, “We’ll give you 45% instead of 33%, just kill him now!” “Fine, ya pansies, I’ll do it,” Anaconda’s muscular arms extended an impossible length towards where Fabian stood far above them,  “Guess I can just wash my hands after!” But speaking of washing, Fabian was still wet from the jacuzzi, causing him to slip out from Anaconda’s death grip like a particularly gross bar of soap. He leaped on to one of her massive arms and used it as a sort of bridge to slide down to where the trio where, jumping dramatically before them. “Not you!” he pointed at the baffled Anaconda, “You freakish barely-female monstrosity, you are nowhere near adequetly comely for the harem of Lord Cortez!” While Asp and Black Mamba were a pair of very conventionally attractive beauties, Anaconda was...well, she was not. Even before she had undergone the procedure that had given her scales on her skin and gills on her face along with her powers, she’d been an extremely tall woman who was, to put it frankly, built like a brick shithouse. And she hadn’t been given much of a pretty mug to make up for it either. She’d learned to take pride in other things, but she still didn’t appreciate this kind of smack talk coming from a bozo like this Cortez scrub! “I’ll give you twos BACK that extra percent if you shut him up!” she shouted, as she knocked Fabian over with the biggest backhand in the world to his entire side. “No problem, said Mamba, conjuring Darkforce energy, “Much as I hate to give this creep what he wants...” The Darkforce granted slightly different powers to everyone who could tap into it. In the case of Black Mamba, it would take on the form of the person that the target loved or sexually desired most...and make love to them as it drained their very life. “Remember, our orders are NOT to kill him!” Asp reminded her, despite having ordered her other teammate to do exactly that just moments ago, “Just to get the MacGuffin and get out---but we must leave him alive! As we were instructed!” “Pity,” scoffed Black Mamba as the Darkfoce energy swarmed the fallen Fabian like smoky Jell-O, “You could have died in ecstasy. Something tells me your eventual end at other hands won’t be half as nice as my love phantoms here could make it.” Phantoms, plural. Usually it was just one per customer, but it looked like this guy had a whole harem’s worth for the Darkforce to drawn on. Most were impossibly gorgeous women like herself, but some of them were duplicates of HIMSELF! Despite having only known him for a few minutes, this didn’t surprise Black Mamba much at all. Leaving the man writhing and moaning on the floor with the shadowy “skins” she had created, as she liked to call them, she and her fellow Serpent Society mercenaries ran off to locate the MacGuffin. *** ”Alright, lover boy, time to snap out of it.” The MacGuffin had been found, but as Asp had stated, the orders from their contractor was that Fabian Cortez had to survive its acquisition. Thus, Black Mamba had returned to release him from his sweet release while the other Serpents waited in the getaway chopper. There were so many Darkforce phantom women and Cortez-clones covering the guy that she actually couldn’t SEE him until she willed them to dissipate away...and given how he looked at this point, she really wished she didn’t HAVE to see him. ”Oh good, you’re alive,” she said, though her tone did not match her words. ”Wha...que...” he looked around dumbly from the floor, barely able to lift his disheveled head up. In typical comic book character fashion, Black Mamba explained to him exactly what had happened, and how her powers worked. ”Well, obviously your abilities were malfunctioning!” he snapped at her. Looked like he was gaining some energy back. That was fast. ”Oh?” she raised an eyebrow. This was not an uncommon accusation; people tended to be ashamed at what her powers revealed about their real selves, their real wants, their real fantasies. ”How so?” ”There was Quicksilver in there!” Fabian shouted, his wind really coming back now, “Why was HE mixed in with my well-deserved harem of WOMEN?! Is this some perverse prank?! Some secret kink of yours?!” “Sounds like it might be a kink of YOURS, buddy,” Black Mamba drolled. The guy was made that this one other dude was in there...and not that there had been about five duplicates of himself? Hmm, did it count as bisexuality if you were only attracted to your clones and not anyone else of the same sex? Except this Quicksilver guy too, apparently... “Anyway, I’ll just be going now,” she turned and started to prance away, ”Thanks for th--” “Oh no you don’t.” To Mamba’s shocked, she felt a strong hand wrap around her delicate wrist, and gasped despite herself. How had he gotten to his feet so fast?! She turned, and found his horribly leering face staring down into hers.  “You were a naughty girl, Miss...Mamba, was it? You need to make that up to m---” And that was when a real live woman, not a hologram or a Darkforce illusion, touched Fabian’s genitals that day. Specifically, she grabbed and squeezed and TWISTED. As the HOWL of the “Supreme Mutant” echoed throughout his headquarters, Black Mamba dashed out to the waiting helicopter. “I better get a BONUS for that!” she said as she climbed in. “What?” Anaconda asked. “....you don’t wanna know,” Black Mamba decided she didn’t want to explained. As they took off, she looked at the secured MacGuffin cube. “What did the Gamesmaster guy say was so valuable about this thing again?” “He said it gets the plot going,” Asp shrugged, “Whatever that means.” END

[bigyack-com]

Hoping to Shape the Conversation at Davos

Several members of the Global Shapers Community answered questions from The New York Times. Their responses have been edited and condensed.

Tariq Al Olaimy, Bahrain

Co-founder and managing director, 3BL Associates With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? I will be attending as part of an inspiring delegation of young people from the Global Shapers Community, which is an initiative of the World Economic Forum. I look forward to connecting and working with those who are leading at the front lines of their communities in the fight against climate change, who are restoring nature, who are helping to drive equitable societies, and who are committed to creating a more caring and inclusive world. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? The most important part of the Global Shapers Community is the word “community.” At a time when our generation faces ecological, economic and values crises, some of the most vital “technologies” in navigating the path ahead are not necessarily artificial intelligence, blockchain or robotics — they are empathy, collaboration and justice. I hope, as a community, we can be a constant reminder of that, as this year’s annual meeting in Davos seeks to redefine what truly matters as a measure of success for governments and corporations.

Neel Tamhane, Bangladesh

Solar project lead, Space10 With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? There has been a fair bit of criticism of Davos in the past, questioning whether the world’s elite has the courage to take necessary action in terms of climate change. For the 50th anniversary, the World Economic Forum has launched a new manifesto that is looking to hold companies accountable and nudge them to be more responsible, which I believe is crucial when we now have around 10 years to drastically reshape our societies to become more circular and self-sustaining. In my eyes, it’s actually quite simple: We only have one planet, so business as usual is no longer an option. Our current model is clearly not going according to plan. Luckily, circular societies and circular business models would not only make us less vulnerable to the very scary consequences of the climate emergency but also create new opportunities for jobs and economic growth. After all, the pioneers of today will be the market leaders of tomorrow. That makes me hopeful. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? With the COP25 summit, formally known as the Conference of Parties, concluding at last month’s U.N. Climate Talks, there is a clear pressing need for countries to set more ambitious targets to scale up renewable energy. I personally look forward to meeting world leaders and sparking discussions on how we enable a global clean energy transition. We have never been better equipped to take on the challenges we face, and we could create much more democratic, decentralized and decarbonized energy systems for the future while lifting up to a billion people out of energy poverty in the process. If the future can be bright, why would we choose differently? This is a question I would like to discuss with world leaders.

Holly Syrett, the Netherlands

Project manager at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? I think it’s interesting and important to bring together different representatives to discuss shaping new economies, and I am proud to represent the youth and future generations. I look forward to meeting fellow Global Shapers and hope to meet women in power, to learn about barriers they have had to overcome and best practices to accelerate empowerment for future leaders. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? I will represent the Shaping Fashion project and show how young people in 45 cities around the world have come together to share knowledge and tools, run collective action campaigns and change personal behaviors to revolutionize the fashion industry. Besides shifting consumer sentiment, the $2 trillion industry needs drastic change and I will be calling for multi-stakeholder collaboration to measure, improve and transparently communicate environmental and social sustainability of fashion. Transparency is something I feel very strongly about. It is our right to be able to choose companies and products that meet our values and we need information that is complete, comparable and trustworthy to do so. The industry and legislators need to empower us to make these decisions. It’s what can truly accelerate the sustainable fashion revolution.

Shruthi Vijayakumar, New Zealand

Facilitator and strategist and co-founder of Emerge Institute With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? Davos may have the reputation of being a space where business and political leaders come together to sign deals, and perhaps forward their own short-term interests. However, there is no doubt that the decisions made today will affect our environment for centuries to come. I wish to be a voice for future generations and young people, who will be the most impacted by these decisions. I seek to have empathetic and courageous conversations with those in power, and to advocate for a long-term, values-based lens in decision making. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? Davos also brings together phenomenal leaders across sectors, and I believe they have a genuine desire to improve the world. One could call it idealistic, but I very much resonate with Margaret Mead’s notion “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” I look forward to exchanging ideas, and forging relationships with those also committed to restoring the health of our planet, and fostering the self transformation of individuals with the intention that this will support greater collective action and impact.

Wanjuhi Njoroge, Kenya

Founder of People Planet Africa With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? The Davos 2020 meeting comes at the onset of a new, vital decade, and 2020 is also the year that countries are required to renew their commitments with even greater ambitions. I hope this meeting will coerce world leaders to take action, especially in reducing emissions by 7.6 percent in 2020 and every other year! I hope the world will look back at this meeting in 10 years as one among many that jolted world leaders to take action. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? Deliberately leaving no one behind is the only way we will achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Over 70 percent of Africans still reside in rural areas and continue to be alienated from development. We must urgently listen to concerns from those on the streets and from deep in the rural interiors — whose voices are rarely heard or examined — with the primary aim to design and redesign and implement relevant action points with measurable outputs. As such, the question on my mind as I head to Davos is how to marry social innovation with technological innovation to achieve a cohesive and sustainable world!

Sophia Hamblin Wang, Australia

Chief operations officer of Mineral Carbonation International With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? In Davos, I’ll be rubbing shoulders with many chief executives and heads of state who will no doubt acknowledge the importance of tackling climate change. However, those watching may view these words as lip service to the sustainability and stakeholder capitalism narrative. While my country is experiencing the worst bush fire season on record, globally climate change is set to cause increasing harm in the coming decades. Now is the time to find innovative solutions for urgent climate action. In Davos, I will be representing progress toward these solutions, seeking to convince business leaders that utilizing carbon emissions can in fact ease the pressure on the bottom line. At Mineral Carbonation International, we have developed a technology platform that transforms carbon dioxide into building materials like cement and plasterboard. This is a long-term, safe storage solution that has the potential to lock away billions of metric tons of emissions from industry or captured from the atmosphere. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? This year, we have the opportunity to spark real climate change action in many areas. I hope to demonstrate that carbon dioxide is a resource that can help, not hinder the planet. If I can convince business leaders that decarbonizing is profitable, this will encourage desperately needed climate action, contribute to our Paris Climate Change targets and provide hope for humanity.

Robyn Seetal, Canada

Co-chair of the Global Shapers Climate & Environment Steering Committee; sustainability strategist and facilitator With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference? Davos is often viewed as an elitist and exclusive event. Even if this is true, it also serves as an opportunity for impact — thought leaders and experts take the stage to influence our world’s decision makers and their agendas. The theme this year, “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World,” spotlights this point at the onset of a critical decade: It is our last chance to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and safeguard our future. My expectation and hope are that whenever plans are being made about the future — onstage or offstage — reducing emissions must be at the core of these plans. I expect our world leaders to be bold in their decision making and actions. We need them now more than ever to lead from a place of empathy to serve those most impacted by their decisions including vulnerable coastal communities, minority groups and the young people of our world. What do you hope to accomplish at Davos? I hope to use this opportunity to support the voices and messages raised by young people around the world. We must listen to the scientists — we are not running out of time, we are now out of time and we need ambitious, deliberate, action. I urge world leaders to take the following actions in true partnership with local Indigenous communities. • Make the policy changes needed to meet the Paris Agreement, as we must reduce global emissions by at least 7 percent every year until 2030 to safeguard our planet. • Support the protection of at least 30 percent of our planet by 2030 and invest in nature-based solutions and biodiversity. • Recognize young people and nature as primary and core stakeholders and authentically incorporate their interests and voices into decisions and actions that will impact them. Read the full article

[moshimichi]

Day 5 – Role Reversal

ZarcRay Week: Day 5

Fandom: Arc V Ship: Zarc/Ray Rating: T (for the one instance of language) Genre: Drama(???) Warning: Character deaths

AO3

The truth comes to light.

—

Yuya’s screams rang out as the very air exploded around him. The others shielded themselves with their arms from the sudden onslaught, crying out in concern for the boy. Why was this happening? Since Yuya won the duel, Zarc shouldn’t be able to revive!

The winds eventually died down, allowing them to be able to look at Yuya’s transformation. His now silver hair hung limply in front of his face and obscured his features. However, everything else could be clearly seen. While it wasn’t completely monstrous, the one who stood before them wasn’t outright human either.

Gray scales littered the skin of his arms, becoming more concentrated as they went down until his forearms and clawed hands were completely covered in them. Scythe-like blades extended from his wrists in deadly curves and sharp horns protruded from his messy hair. His ears were now elfin with wing-like appendages bordering along the ridges. While his size didn’t seem to have changed much, his clothes were still ruined by the dark wings that had emerged and punctured cloth. Lastly, a tail, easily four times as long as he was tall, curled around him on the ground with its barbs pierced through the ground as if it was butter.

“Yu…ya…?” Sora hesitantly took a step closer to the still form. That one motion was enough to rouse the other boy. Clawed fingers twitched and barbs sliced cleanly through concrete as scales slowly slithered against the floor. Silver strands shifted and the group found themselves pinned to the spot by burning, molten gold.

Zarc’s gaze wandered over each Lancer in a searching manner. Not finding what he was looking for, he tilted his head back in a manner almost like a beast sniffing out its prey. Lips parted and a rough voice broke the stifling silence.

“R…ay…”

Reiji tensed at the word. Why was he looking for Ray? Pushing Reira behind him, the teen stepped forward. Reira’s footsteps could be heard as the boy stepped away, but unwilling to call Zarc’s attention to the child, he refrained from commanding him to stay put. Voice firm, he called, “Ray isn’t here, Zarc.”

Upon hearing his name, the draconic being’s eyes snapped towards Reiji. There was a flash of recognition as gold met amethyst just seconds before wind whistled past him. Reiji stood frozen, not daring to move so the barbs of Zarc’s tail wouldn’t cut even more into his neck.

“…Oh. You’re not her…” The sharp objects moved away and suddenly Reiji wasn’t so numb. A small trail of blood slipped down his skin, bringing to attention just how close he had been to death.

“Your eyes… Reiji… Ray’s…” Judging by Zarc’s mumbling, it could be concluded that the demon wasn’t completely coherent. Perhaps Yuya’s resistance had some part in it. He shook his head fiercely as if to clear his mind.

“Where is she?” he demanded. “I have to— She needs to be stopped. Where is she?!”

“You plan to stop her before she can stop you again?” Reiji made sure to not look back in Reira’s direction. If he gave any hint that Reira had a connection to Ray, who knew what that demon would do to him? “Before you worry about her, perhaps you should focus on us.”

The bespectacled teen raised his arms, activating his duel disk. The others quickly followed his example. There was no guarantee that Ray would revive. Even if she did, Reiji did not want to place any bets on the chances that she could seal Zarc away once again.

Reiji, the Lancers, and their allies would make sure to defeat him and bring back Yuya and the others by their own efforts. Of that, he was determined.

Zarc stared at the opposing group ready to fight him for a moment. Then, a loud, rumbling growl, a sound of a far greater magnitude than someone of his size should be able to make, tore free from behind bared fangs.

“Are you fucking stupid?!” he snapped. Taken aback, his opponents—dear gods, children—looked on in confusion. “We have to stop her! If she revives, she’ll try to destroy the world again!”

Looks ranging from outrage to disbelief scattered amongst the children. Reiji—Ray’s brother with those same, near identical eyes as the girl Zarc even now still admired—frowned. “Don’t try to tell us such preposterous lies, Zarc. Akaba Leo told us everything about your past.”

Now that the spirits of his counterparts were somewhat settled, Zarc could see bits and pieces of their memories. And likewise, they could see parts of his. He could just feel the whirling confusion and denial, but he ignored them for the more important situation at hand.

“You are stupid,” he growled. If it weren’t for the dire situation, he would have found the offended look on the younger—no, he would probably be considered older at this point—boy’s face rather funny. But now wasn’t the time. “Akaba Leo is her pawn.”

He wouldn’t be able to get anywhere if he didn’t explain to these kids. He knew they were skilled. If they continued to operate based on Ray’s fabricated lies, they would likely wear him down enough that he wouldn’t be able to stand a chance against her once she returned.

So he told them everything. Yes, he had caused that first incident of violence, launching an era of gladiator-like dueling. Yes, the monsters had been pained because of it, screaming in anger for vengeance. But no, he had not gone insane from it all. With how long he had been able to hear duel monsters and due to his bonds with his own forged by years of companionship, Zarc had been able to at least calm his monsters enough that they wouldn’t drive him off the deep end.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the Speeding Diva.

Akaba Ray’s ability to feel the spirits’ emotions had been to a far lesser degree than his. But when the monsters suddenly gained mass, their voices had become so loud that it was as if her ability had strengthened a hundredfold. Unable to deal with the burden of the monsters’ rage and fear, she was quickly overwhelmed and went insane.

Ray concocted a plan to destroy all of humanity, as per the monsters’ wishes, and fed Leo a tearful sob story about her ability. In the hopes of helping his daughter, the man created four cards from the power of nature so that she could perhaps suppress her ability.

However, Ray ended up using those cards to augment her power instead. She became able to summon monsters into physical form on her own much like the kings of old and, connected to them as she was, formed them into an army able to use formidable strategies even the best strategists couldn’t beat.

As a fellow person with the same ability to hear duel monsters, Zarc had taken it upon himself to put an end to Ray’s rampage. On his own, he wouldn’t have been able to match her strength. So he fused himself with his four most loyal monsters, his dragons, and threw away his humanity in order to stand on the same ground.

But he made a mistake. Zarc pitied Ray. He sympathized with her. If things had been different, it could have easily been him who would’ve gone insane and tried to destroy the world. Unwilling to actually hurt her, he had instead tried to suppress her long enough to take the nature cards and used them to seal her power away.

Seeing that she wouldn’t be able to defeat him, Ray had decided to regroup. She split them into four so that one day she could revive herself and return to destroying the world with him out of the way. She manipulated the memories of Leo, the one person with actual blood ties to her, so that he would try to single-mindedly revive his daughter without even a thought to the resulting death and destruction or even to his own family.

At those last words, Reiji grit his teeth. So this was the true reason why they had been abandoned? Why his mother had been made to suffer his father’s absence?

“I admired her,” Zarc admitted. Ray had even been a sort of celebrity crush for him. “So I allowed my counterparts to nurture feelings of affection towards those girls. That way, should the girls ever disappear from their respective dimensions, they would be sure to follow.”

Should Ray’s revival ever become imminent, so would his own.

“Then, why were they so scared of you?” Sora butted in. He remembered Yuya’s fear-filled eyes whenever he thought of going berserk. “If it was for a good cause, why were they so against becoming one?”

“Because becoming one meant the worst was about to happen!” Zarc yelled. “They might not have known, but Ray’s revival not only meant the destruction of humanity, but the disappearance of the one most important to them. And they didn’t want that!”

“It’s kind of flattering, though, that parts of you were so attached to parts of me.”

Zarc’s body froze. That voice… It couldn’t be! Everyone’s eyes turned towards the direction that voice came from. There, standing tall with an amused smile on her face was…

“Ray!” he growled. She looked very much like how he remembered, though years younger like he was. Such was the effect of having their counterparts fuse together when they were younger than their original ages.

“Zarc,” Ray greeted back. Cold, violet eyes roved over his body in amusement, sending chills down his spine. “You look so cute when you’re small like that.”

“Cut the crap,” he snarled. “How did you come back?”

The smile on her face became a rather cruel smirk.

“Children are so susceptible to control,” she mused. Reiji’s eyes widened and he jerked around to look for Reira. However, the boy wasn’t anywhere to be found. His gaze whipped back to Ray—his sister—and she giggled when their eyes met. “The machine just needed a bit more fuel for me to return, if not the original world. So I just suggested to Reira that he take Father on a…walk.”

Zarc heard more than saw the thud of knees against the floor. “No.” Reiji’s whispered words echoed with despair. “Reira… Dad…”

“You bitch…” Yuya’s spirit cried and writhed within Zarc. He might not have known the child personally, but he knew just how much his counterpart had cared for the boy.

Tinkling laughter answered his angry words. Ray held out her hand and Zarc realized with a jerk that the four bracelets once again adorned her wrist. One of the gemstones glowed, causing a gust of wind to blow.

Rin.

Distracted by the turmoil in the back of his mind, Zarc jumped when Ray suddenly appeared before him with the aid of the wind. Gentle hands gripped his face and his eyes widened as he soon found her lips on his. Everything inside him stilled, a cold yet warm pit in his stomach. When a tongue trailed over his lower lip and teeth nibbled teasingly, however, he quickly pushed her away and jumped back. A good distance between them now, he wiped his mouth to hopefully rid himself of both the sensation and the burning blush across his cheeks.

“What are you playing at?” Zarc demanded. The girl smiled, a gesture that pulled his attention unwillingly to her lips.

“I just wanted to see if such a relationship could work between us.” He knew what she was alluding to. Between Yuya and Yuzu, Yuto and Ruri, and Yugo and Rin, thoughts of a relationship between Ray and himself were easy to come to. If it wasn’t for Leo’s interference, maybe even Yuri and Selena would have had at least some sort of friendship.

“Don’t toy with me, Ray,” he hissed. Zarc had learned from his mistake. There would be no pity from him this time, no holding back. This time, he would be sure to take her down, even if it meant killing her.

“Oh, but Zarc…” She gave him a toothy smile that was much more malicious than her looks would have people believe. “What is it you say again? The fun has just begun.”

(The title of “Speeding Diva” for Ray belongs to @pendulum-sonata)

[thornswithroses]

2016 Books I’ve Read

I had been hoping to read more books last year, but I am relieved to have made it halfway to my reading goals. It is a lot better than it was back in 2015. 

Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden, book #1) by Charlaine Harris

I actually enjoy Harris’ other mysteries more than I do the Sookie Stackhouse series. And I’m glad I only bothered with one of the Stackhouse books, considering that I hear how disappointing the last book ended. It does not help that the True Blood series left a bad taste my mouth after how they end Tara. The Harper Connelly books are actually my favorites, but the Teagarden ones may soon prove to be my second. I like Aurora Teagarden, I like how as ridiculous and delightfully flowery of a name she has, she is a grounded person.

Harris likes to describe the clothing her protagonists wear or want, and while I usually enjoy that aspect of writing, it is rather amusing when Harris does it. Namely, because the clothes she describes sound rather dated and probably would be more suited to someone in their sixties rather than their late twenties. 

The writing is sparse but absorbing, and Harris has a flair for a comfortable Agatha Christie likability in most of her works. This is no exception that.

Would recommend: a cozy but gripping reading to relax at night with.

Ash by Malinda Lo

I found myself so frustrated for sweet Ash. I never really appreciated how much the original Cinderella had to overcome until reading this book. Even her beloved father talked over the healing women of their original village, including Ash’s mother. Isobel is one of my most hated characters this year, for how she abuses Ash. And how much of pain Ash goes through could have been avoided if she had been listened to. 

I am usually leery of love triangles where the queer girl has to choose between a man or a woman. I’m bisexual, and I am very much aware that a queer woman is not less queer for wanting to be with a man. However, we cannot argue that heterosexual relationships are prioritized over homosexual ones. We cannot claim that bisexuality is not often dismissed as a curiosity by writers, most especially by male ones. It is 2017, and this shit still occurs. We cannot argue that female sexuality and relationships with women, be they romantic or platonic, are often dismissed in media. 

That said, I knew Malinda Lo was not going to fail me with how she handled Ash’s bisexuality. I used to follow Malinda Lo’s writings on AfterEllen in my Baby Feminist Years, and I do not regret that. She is a phenomenal writer, whether she writes in fiction or nonfiction. 

Ash’s relationships to Sidhean and Kaisa are different but special in her life. With Kaisa, their relationship has the delectability of apples, a tenderness and subtle warmth that is not written enough for gay relationships. With Sidhean, there is a tension for forbidden lust and the gradual trust they grow for one another. 

The ending is satisfying, but that is all I will give to you. I urge you to read this book, especially as it comes from an author that actually actively works with diversifying young adult literature to the best she can. 

Would recommend: a thoughtful, lyrical novel about a girl that overcomes obstacles to find love and her own independence. 

Mary Reilly by Valerie Marin

This is the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as seen through the eyes of Mary Reilly, a loyal, hardworking house-maid for the doctor. The book is written as if it were from Mary’s own journaling. 

I like the protagonist. Usually, when the perspectives of fringe characters are written about how they view a famed character, they simplify too many matters.

With Mary, yes, she is enamored but misguided by Dr. Jekyll’s supposed virtues, but as the novella goes on, as palpable as the sexual tension gets between them, she is not shy about pointing out the classism he and the world have on her, at least to herself. 

The book also has her deal with the abuses she undergone as a child from her father’s hands. I will not give spoilers away, but it is rather satisfying how she comes to terms with her abuse after attending a funeral (and, no, it’s not her abuser’s funeral.)

I like the different relationships she has with her fellow servants and how we see the grit of her daily duties. As I said before, the sexual tension between Mary and Dr. Jekyll is deliciously intense. It also helps that they are both shown to genuinely care about each other, adding a certain sweetness to the star-crossed quality of their relationship. 

And when the book wants to be chilling, it does indeed do that.

Would recommend: for all your fun, gothy indulgences!

The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

An underrated epic fantasy that seems to understand that the quiet moments of a person’s life is just as important as the high-paced ones. The narration written uniquely, there’s a story-within-a-story with yet another one hidden somewhere under there. 

I enjoy reading older, isolated, world-weary Kvothe and how that contrasts with him telling his story of a younger, bright-eyed him that wants to learn and wants to avenge his loved ones. 

The book is a big one, and it is filled to the brim of so many conflicts and adventures. The humor is vibrant as red, the constant worry of poverty always hitting close to home for me, and his friendships and rivalries with everyone makes one feel invigorating. Oh, believe me, there is plenty of darker aspects to this story, and plenty of moments where I had to take a break from reading because it hurt too much at times. But Rothfuss seems to have the instinctual sense of when enough is enough, unlike the likes of George R.R. Martin and Joss Whedon.

Sometimes I got annoyed with how it felt like the author’s own feelings spilled somewhere. I thought the book could get too dismissive of the beliefs of the rural villages, and, believe me, I hate the concept of a sweet, harmless small town, especially when it mostly features white people. I’m no Stars Hollow fangirl, but my issue is rather it does not look at it through a nuanced lens.

All in all, what issues I have are little compared to so many factors that had me enjoy this book.

Would recommend: for people looking for a rich narrative that carves out many emotions from you, especially if you’re looking for an elaborate fantasy.

Decreation by Anne Carson

I am going to be real with you.

There are a lot of elements to this book that have flown over my head. 

Decreation holds so many references and vocabulary that had me searching all sorts of sources to understand. 

I have been interested in reading Anne Carson since seeing so many snippets of her words around.  It's possibly odd to say that being confused by the book and having to do research to know it makes me enjoy "Decreation" very much. I like books that force me to think. I like books that have the sort of lines that ring well together like a series of synchronizing bells. Anne Carson has an enthralling mind, and I look forward to reading more of her work. If you want to read a challenging book with prose and poetry that is clean and shining like knives, this is the book for you

Would recommend: for people looking for something that makes them want to ponder and to be lulled by the beauty of how words are arranged.

The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black

When it comes to short story collections, let's face it, there are going to be stories that you adored, stories you're indifferent to, and stories you just really, really, really hate. For most of the stories in this collection, I enjoyed them immensely. I remember when I read Holly Black's first novel, Tithe, I was absorbed by the lush prose. I can only describe it as like a spiderweb, how it shimmered and ensnared. I am crestfallen that she has simplified that style over the years, I wish YA authors can trust their readers, especially the teenage ones, into appreciating descriptive prose. One of the reasons why I moved from YA literature to adult fiction by the time I was sixteen was because I got tired of the simple style of writing. I wanted to challenge myself more, and I wanted to appreciate the art of language. I still do. Holly Black's style is still not how it was in her Tithe days, but the stories are still written in an eye-catching way. Maybe not like a spiderweb, but surely as the sheen of water. My favorites were: "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" is about vampire towns, need I say more? "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" had an interesting take of becoming a wolf where it is a flower instead of a bloody chomp that turns you. I will admit I have always had a soft spot for beautiful things that cause horror. "The Night Market" was a delightful romance with a Filipino girl with a port stain birthmark on her face that has an elf in a tree enamored with her, much to her surprise and frustration. It was entertaining to see their dynamic of challenging and outwitting one another, especially over the girl's sister's safety. "The Dog King" was with wolves in a castle, literally and metaphorically. "The Coat of Stars" was about a gay man rescuing his lost love, with the bonus of costume porn. "The Land of Heart's Desire" had me the excellent opportunity of reuniting with beloved characters from Black's Modern Faerie Tales series. The last story, "The Poison Eaters," I love the unique narration, the way the girl that was a weapon became a strategist for revenge. The stories I disliked were few and far. "A Reversal of Fortune" had an endearing pit bull dog, but that's all the positivity I can give it. The story's concept sounded good--a girl challenges the Devil to save her pet's life--but written in such a weak and juvenile way that was also, to put it bluntly, gross. "Virgin" also had an interesting concept but I feel this had the potential to have been expanded more, whether novel-length or just a longer short story. "In Vodka Veritas" went too far into the silly route for me, especially for an interesting concept as having a Bacchanal in a high school prom. The narrator was also annoying as fuck. "Paper Cuts Scissors" should have expanded the characters more, it was a shallow little story. "Going Ironside" was hard to follow and it had a good concept but a lukewarm execution.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The Goblin Emperor is a political fantasy that is loving and hopeful and does not move through violence necessarily so much as surviving the eyes and gossip of a land that does not always see half-Goblins like Maia in high regards. I like my prickly books; I appreciate the blood and the lust and the anger, and all the other juicy bits of a harrowing plot. Believe me, I do. However, I honestly find the politics here and in the Kushiel's Legacy far more engrossing than in famous works such as Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Maia is proof that having a genuinely sweet personality does not make one a dull protagonist. He is an underdog and coming from an abusive home life will certainly have readers already feeling protective of him. The biggest charm out of Maia however, is how Maia uses his goodness and need for survival to be calculating as Maia moves into the Emperor role. He's calculating how good his ruling should be. That is striking to me. He holds similar characteristics to one of my favorite fantasy characters, Sansa Stark. The characters surrounding him, all differing arrays of morals, are also striking. His bodyguards that are quite the sun-and-moon pair in demeanor and strength, his loyal assistant, his fiance, a passionate warrior girl. All in all, this was a satisfying read and one that I will enjoy rereading again and again. 

Would recommend: if you love character-driven stories set in a lush, intricately-woven setting with one of the most likable protagonists around. 

Carpathia by Cecilia Woloch

Woloch writes of moving, of grief, of love, all with great aplomb. There is a birdlike quality to her words as she talks about her father, his death, love, of moving across so many landscapes. Her poems have the serenity of the color blue. I cannot wait to see read more from her. 

Would recommend: if you want to be lulled by beautiful wording and imagery.

The Divinity Student by Michael Cisco

This book is like reading one long hallucination. The surrealism is everywhere, the horror underlying everything. The imagery is haunting in the best of ways, it feels like smoke clinging to your clothes. There is no logic to this story. You just cannot make sense of it. There is a reason why Cisco is often compared to Franz Kafka.

Would recommend: if you want to pore over surrealism and odd imagery rather than a particular plot. 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

One of the most satisfying fantasies I have read the past few years. Novik knows how to make twists and she knows how to make those twists flow right. While I could feel old-school sort of fantasy as a backbone to this story, it still stands all on its own. The characters were vivid in their personalities.

Sometimes I had frustrations with Agnieszka, with how much she fussed over dealing with fancy indulgences. There is nothing wrong with her for preferring a rural, simpler life, but it felt tacked-on too often. At least it is not as bad as Hunger Games, where the bad guys in that story enjoyed to opulent, feminine indulgences that had something of a homophobic coding too. 

I do adore how Agnieszka’s clumsiness is not made to be endearing, but a human flaw. I wish to have seen more of her friendship with Kasia and see her relationship with the Dragon get developed more but all in all, it was enjoyable. 

The magic system was also beautifully envisioned and executed. 

Would recommend: character-driven, brilliant world-building, and unique storytelling.

Batgirl, Volume 1: The Darkest Reflection by Gail Simone

I hate the new 52. I hate most of it. I'm probably not going to read most titles from DC for a while. I am still not forgiving them for that hot topic nightmare that is Harley Quinn's makeover. I also have a small confession to make.

As a child, I was not that interested in Batgirl. I liked her enough on the Adam West show. I thought it was fantastic that she was a librarian. I thought Yvonne Craig was lovely. Other than that depiction, I barely gave thought to Barbara Gordon. 

With DC animation, my holy trinity of favorite female characters was Huntress (Bertinelli), Wonder Woman, and Catwoman. In recent years, especially with the passing of Craig, I've come to appreciate her more, value her character, her relationships with others, her strong will, her kindness, her flaws, her mistakes. Gail Simone actually made her a whole person to me when she was Oracle. And while I am still pissed that she is not that anymore, Simone's writing had me cheer for Barbara in getting back out onto the streets. This volume shows the ups and downs of her friendships to people she has known for a long time, the tentative friendship with her roommate that has the potential to expand a lot deeper, and above all, her relationship with both her parents. It always annoyed me when superhero stories got with the Disney Parent Problem, where there was only one parent active in the protagonist's life and how that was most often the father. Here, we see Barbara's mother and how their relationship is broken, and you feel for both of them. You want to be angry with Barbara's mom for leaving the family, but you also empathize her efforts into healing that rift, especially how they're not quite satisfied; no doubt there is a deeper story about why exactly she left. You understand Barbara's hurt but you also know she's not one to deal with emotions, including bitterness, well, and she is not above pettiness and evasiveness. I really look forward to where this goes in the next volumes.

Would recommend: for long-time Batgirl fans and for those interested in getting to know her more.

Ms. Marvel, Volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

Kamala Khan has to be one of the sweetest characters I ever had the fortune of reading. She’s awkward, silly, earnest, and good-intentioned.

Some of the dialogue does feel stilted. I am guessing because Wilson is still trying to balance showing real-life issues while telling a story. I know people had issues with how static her family feels at the moment, although from what I’ve seen, they do develop well as the series goes on.

Would recommend: a fun, charismatic read that personally makes me think back to watching favorite Saturday morning cartoons.

[mastcomm]

Hoping to Shape the Conversation at Davos

Several members of the Global Shapers Community answered questions from The New York Times. Their responses have been edited and condensed.

Tariq Al Olaimy, Bahrain

Co-founder and managing director, 3BL Associates

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

I will be attending as part of an inspiring delegation of young people from the Global Shapers Community, which is an initiative of the World Economic Forum. I look forward to connecting and working with those who are leading at the front lines of their communities in the fight against climate change, who are restoring nature, who are helping to drive equitable societies, and who are committed to creating a more caring and inclusive world.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

The most important part of the Global Shapers Community is the word “community.” At a time when our generation faces ecological, economic and values crises, some of the most vital “technologies” in navigating the path ahead are not necessarily artificial intelligence, blockchain or robotics — they are empathy, collaboration and justice. I hope, as a community, we can be a constant reminder of that, as this year’s annual meeting in Davos seeks to redefine what truly matters as a measure of success for governments and corporations.

Neel Tamhane, Bangladesh

Solar project lead, Space10

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

There has been a fair bit of criticism of Davos in the past, questioning whether the world’s elite has the courage to take necessary action in terms of climate change. For the 50th anniversary, the World Economic Forum has launched a new manifesto that is looking to hold companies accountable and nudge them to be more responsible, which I believe is crucial when we now have around 10 years to drastically reshape our societies to become more circular and self-sustaining.

In my eyes, it’s actually quite simple: We only have one planet, so business as usual is no longer an option. Our current model is clearly not going according to plan. Luckily, circular societies and circular business models would not only make us less vulnerable to the very scary consequences of the climate emergency but also create new opportunities for jobs and economic growth. After all, the pioneers of today will be the market leaders of tomorrow. That makes me hopeful.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

With the COP25 summit, formally known as the Conference of Parties, concluding at last month’s U.N. Climate Talks, there is a clear pressing need for countries to set more ambitious targets to scale up renewable energy. I personally look forward to meeting world leaders and sparking discussions on how we enable a global clean energy transition.

We have never been better equipped to take on the challenges we face, and we could create much more democratic, decentralized and decarbonized energy systems for the future while lifting up to a billion people out of energy poverty in the process. If the future can be bright, why would we choose differently? This is a question I would like to discuss with world leaders.

Holly Syrett, the Netherlands

Project manager at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

I think it’s interesting and important to bring together different representatives to discuss shaping new economies, and I am proud to represent the youth and future generations. I look forward to meeting fellow Global Shapers and hope to meet women in power, to learn about barriers they have had to overcome and best practices to accelerate empowerment for future leaders.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

I will represent the Shaping Fashion project and show how young people in 45 cities around the world have come together to share knowledge and tools, run collective action campaigns and change personal behaviors to revolutionize the fashion industry.

Besides shifting consumer sentiment, the $2 trillion industry needs drastic change and I will be calling for multi-stakeholder collaboration to measure, improve and transparently communicate environmental and social sustainability of fashion.

Transparency is something I feel very strongly about. It is our right to be able to choose companies and products that meet our values and we need information that is complete, comparable and trustworthy to do so. The industry and legislators need to empower us to make these decisions. It’s what can truly accelerate the sustainable fashion revolution.

Shruthi Vijayakumar, New Zealand

Facilitator and strategist and co-founder of Emerge Institute

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

Davos may have the reputation of being a space where business and political leaders come together to sign deals, and perhaps forward their own short-term interests. However, there is no doubt that the decisions made today will affect our environment for centuries to come.

I wish to be a voice for future generations and young people, who will be the most impacted by these decisions. I seek to have empathetic and courageous conversations with those in power, and to advocate for a long-term, values-based lens in decision making.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

Davos also brings together phenomenal leaders across sectors, and I believe they have a genuine desire to improve the world. One could call it idealistic, but I very much resonate with Margaret Mead’s notion “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

I look forward to exchanging ideas, and forging relationships with those also committed to restoring the health of our planet, and fostering the self transformation of individuals with the intention that this will support greater collective action and impact.

Wanjuhi Njoroge, Kenya

Founder of People Planet Africa

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

The Davos 2020 meeting comes at the onset of a new, vital decade, and 2020 is also the year that countries are required to renew their commitments with even greater ambitions. I hope this meeting will coerce world leaders to take action, especially in reducing emissions by 7.6 percent in 2020 and every other year! I hope the world will look back at this meeting in 10 years as one among many that jolted world leaders to take action.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

Deliberately leaving no one behind is the only way we will achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. Over 70 percent of Africans still reside in rural areas and continue to be alienated from development.

We must urgently listen to concerns from those on the streets and from deep in the rural interiors — whose voices are rarely heard or examined — with the primary aim to design and redesign and implement relevant action points with measurable outputs. As such, the question on my mind as I head to Davos is how to marry social innovation with technological innovation to achieve a cohesive and sustainable world!

Sophia Hamblin Wang, Australia

Chief operations officer of Mineral Carbonation International

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

In Davos, I’ll be rubbing shoulders with many chief executives and heads of state who will no doubt acknowledge the importance of tackling climate change. However, those watching may view these words as lip service to the sustainability and stakeholder capitalism narrative.

While my country is experiencing the worst bush fire season on record, globally climate change is set to cause increasing harm in the coming decades. Now is the time to find innovative solutions for urgent climate action.

In Davos, I will be representing progress toward these solutions, seeking to convince business leaders that utilizing carbon emissions can in fact ease the pressure on the bottom line.

At Mineral Carbonation International, we have developed a technology platform that transforms carbon dioxide into building materials like cement and plasterboard. This is a long-term, safe storage solution that has the potential to lock away billions of metric tons of emissions from industry or captured from the atmosphere.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

This year, we have the opportunity to spark real climate change action in many areas. I hope to demonstrate that carbon dioxide is a resource that can help, not hinder the planet.

If I can convince business leaders that decarbonizing is profitable, this will encourage desperately needed climate action, contribute to our Paris Climate Change targets and provide hope for humanity.

Robyn Seetal, Canada

Co-chair of the Global Shapers Climate & Environment Steering Committee; sustainability strategist and facilitator

With some of the mixed perceptions about Davos, what are your expectations of the conference?

Davos is often viewed as an elitist and exclusive event. Even if this is true, it also serves as an opportunity for impact — thought leaders and experts take the stage to influence our world’s decision makers and their agendas.

The theme this year, “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World,” spotlights this point at the onset of a critical decade: It is our last chance to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and safeguard our future. My expectation and hope are that whenever plans are being made about the future — onstage or offstage — reducing emissions must be at the core of these plans.

I expect our world leaders to be bold in their decision making and actions. We need them now more than ever to lead from a place of empathy to serve those most impacted by their decisions including vulnerable coastal communities, minority groups and the young people of our world.

What do you hope to accomplish at Davos?

I hope to use this opportunity to support the voices and messages raised by young people around the world. We must listen to the scientists — we are not running out of time, we are now out of time and we need ambitious, deliberate, action. I urge world leaders to take the following actions in true partnership with local Indigenous communities.

• Make the policy changes needed to meet the Paris Agreement, as we must reduce global emissions by at least 7 percent every year until 2030 to safeguard our planet.

• Support the protection of at least 30 percent of our planet by 2030 and invest in nature-based solutions and biodiversity.

• Recognize young people and nature as primary and core stakeholders and authentically incorporate their interests and voices into decisions and actions that will impact them.

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