#powerhouse affiliate

[ge]

its truly crazy to me that tangchung had all the right fixings of being an actual serious romantically involved couple that ended in a realistically handled tragedy but biga is a grown ass married man with a child so of course theyre only close boy best friends

[thequiver]

Who is...Sam Guthrie | Cannonball? - A Reading Guide

Sam Guthrie is an X-Men and Avengers affiliated mutant from Marvel Comics. Sam is the oldest of the nine Guthrie children and is the definition of parentification having dropped out of high school to work in the coal mines that killed his father (in either a mine accident or through black lung depending on your preferred retcon). Sam's powers would manifest during a mining accident and allowed him to blast through the rock to safety. Sam would then join the team he's most associated with, the New Mutants. Sam's story is one of overcoming adversities, determination, and of healing. Some of Sam's earlier stories show him being groomed by Lila Cheney and the adults in charge of his safety enabling her.

Sam is also excellent Appalachian representation and is one of the first Appalachian main characters to not be ashamed of being Appalachian while simultaneously not being based on hillbilly humor.

You'll find a reading list under the cut! The list will need to be posted in multiple parts due to length, subsequent parts will be added as reblogs.

Part 1 below!

Introduction and New Mutants Era

Sam's first team immediately after introduction was the original New Mutants (1983). Throughout this period Sam develops the close bonds he's known for, particularly with teammates Roberto Da Costa (Sunspot), Dani Moonstar (Mirage), and Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane). New Mutants was written by Chris Claremont and while wonderful, drops the ball in many places, one of which being the way that Sam's dialect is written and the sort of general understanding of Appalachia, as well as a refusal to acknowledge that Sam's relationship with Lila Cheney was based upon grooming. The issue that introduces Lila to Sam's story will have a red asterisk and a trigger warning next to it.

Marvel Graphic Novel (1981) #4 New Mutants (1983) #1-12 Marvel Team-Up (1972) # Annual 6 New Mutants (1983) #13-21 Rom (1982) #Annual 3 New Mutants (1983) # Annual 1 * (TW: Grooming) New Mutants (1983) #23-25 Marvel Team-Up (1972) #149 New Mutants (1983) #29 (Lila is in this issue) New Mutants (1983) #30-34 New Mutants Special Edition (1985) #1 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #201 (definitely not a necessary issue, but it's one that highlights that Sam IS smart, he's just really bad at technology) New Mutants (1983) #37 Firestar (1986) #2 New Mutants (1983) #38-40, 42-44, Annual 2, 45-51, Annual 3, 52 Fallen Angels (1987) #1 (this issue is a good look into Sam and Berto's relationship) New Mutants (1983) #53-66 Spellbound (1988) #4 (Lila's in this issue and you can see the way she almost treats Sam like an accessory) New Mutants (1983) #Annual 4A-B, 67-76, Annual 5A, 77-92, Annual 6A Wolverine: Rahne of Terra (not incredibly Sam focused and it's a bit..different, but what there is of Sam I like) New Mutants (1983) #93-100, Annual 7A

X-Force, X-Men, and X-Force Again

After the end of New Mutants, under the direction of Cable, Sam helped found the team, X-Force, and would be appointed Cable's second-in-command. While in New Mutants we got to see a Sam Guthrie who was coming into his powers, X-Force really gives us a glimpse of a Sam Guthrie who is starting to really apply those powers and who is starting to highlight why the character has come to be known as a powerhouse. During this period we see Sam go from a member of X-Force, to becoming a fully fledged X-Men, and then see him re-join X-Force until the team is disbanded. The change from X-Force to X-Men to X-Force are not represented in different sections as there is still overlap in Sam's character interactions and throughout his period on the X-Men, his former X-Force affiliation is an important factor that helps inform his choices and his outlook on situations, although I have tried to signify the changes with breaks in the text block.

New Warriors (1990) # Annual 1A Uncanny X-Men (1981) #Annual 15A X-Factor (1986) #Annual 6A X-Force (1991) #1-3 Spider-Man (1990) #16 X-Force (1991) #4-5 X-Factor (1986) #77 X-Force (1991) #Annual 1C, 6-15 X-Cutioner's Song Event (this links you to a reading list I made for the event) X-Men (1991) #17 New Warriors (1990) #31 X-Force (1991) #19-26, Annual 2, 27-29, 32-33 New Warriors (1990) #46 X-Force (1991) #34-37 Cable (1993) #15 X-Factor (1986) #106 X-Force (1991) #38 Excalibur (1988) #82 X-Force (1991) #39-45 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #323-325 Wolverine (1988) #93

Uncanny X-Men '95 (1995) #1 X-Men: Clan Destine (1996) #1 Wolverine (1998) #96 X-Force (1991) #48 X-Force and Cable '95 (1995) #1 X-Men vs. The Brood (1996) #1-2 X-Force (1991) #51 X-Men (1991) #48 Wolverine (1988) #99-100 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #332 Wolverine (1988) #101 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #334 X-Men (1991) #54 Onslaught: X-Men (1996) #1 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #335 Cable (1993) #36 Beast (1997) #1-3 X-Men (1991) #59 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #340 X-Men (1991) #60 Wolverine (1988) #111 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #341-342, Annual '97 The Incredible Hulk (1962) #455 X-Men (1991) #62-66 Wolverine (1988) #115-118 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #350 X-Men (1991) #70 New Mutants: Truth or Death (1997) #1-3 X-Men (1991) #71-72, 75-76 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #355 Alpha Flight (1997) #9 X-Men (1991) #77-78 Uncanny X-Men/Fantastic Four Annual '98 (1998) #1 X-Men (1991) #79

X-Force (1991) #83-84 X-Force/Champions Annual '98 (1998) #1 X-Force (1991) #85-93 Uncanny X-Men (1981) #375 (Sam's only in the beginning of this one) X-Force (1991) # Annual '99, 94-98 Cable (1993) #73-75 X-Force (1991) #99-117

Part 2 to follow soon as I've hit the link limit!

[il3x]

Worm OC Tumblr I would like to present my silliest most self-indulgent OCs:

They're a largely non-violent villain duo known for high-profile thefts. I keep them around because a) fun to draw, and b) if I ever need a few low-stakes enemies to throw at other OCs they work pretty well.

Power details (a lot of details...) below the cut.

Null is a Tinker who specialises in breaking or "nullifying" other technology, including Tinkertech. The more complex, the easier to nullify, though some tech requires specialised tools or conditions. PRT have her down as an infiltration/countersurveillance Tinker, and there's some debate online as to whether she's actually a Thinker.

NU11 (Alicia Lee, she/her)

Age: Early 20s

PRT Classification: Tinker/Stranger 4.

Affiliation: Villain

Null uses her powers for infiltration, hence the Stranger rating. She "nullifies" such things as cameras, security systems, and locks. Her power sabotages a device's intended function, so if a lock is intended to stay closed, Null can get it open. Again, the more high-tech, the easier; Null learned mundane lockpicking to use on simple mechanical locks, since that's easier and less intrusive than trying to Tinker them open.

Null can only create tech if the result is solely for tech nullification, e.g. her EMP cannon. She approximates other gadgets by starting with a complicated piece of technology and selectively nullifying its functions. This is how she got her goggles' attachments. Her power sometimes manifests in combat-Thinker-esque ways, like "I want to nullify that load-bearing wall, on top of those people, using, oh, this handgun". (It gives her the necessary mental facilities to use her "tools" for the nullification, which can include perfect aim if the "tool" is a weapon. She is still limited by her body, though, so things like hand tremors will get her. Someone like Tattletale could tell her aim was due to one-off power hax.)

These two don't have much backstory, but Null triggered from being stalked.

-----

A shameless Kurogiri expy. Void's Breaker state is purple-black fog that acts as portals; Void can split himself up into blobs of fog (usually roughly door-sized) and anything or anyone entering one blob is instantly teleported out of another. Void chooses the exit point.

Void (Undecided, he/him)

Age: Undecided (adult)

PRT classification: Breaker (Mover) 7-ish

Affiliation: Villain

His fog acts like normal fog, can be kept out of a room by airtight sealing, can't really interact with solids in a meaningful manner. He has telekinetic control over his 'true consciousness' blob. Portals are anchored in place, so you can't blow them away or disperse them.

He can have a (seemingly) indefinite number of portals open at once, and a (seemingly) indefinite distance between portals, but there are some limitations:

He can only leave a portal somewhere he is, and he has to move conventionally. He can telekinesis himself along at up to his top human running speed, without exhaustion.

He produces more fog at a fixed rate, so there's a time delay between making portals

Portals vanish when Void exits breaker state, meaning he has to spend a lot of time in his fog state to use his typical M.O. (multiple portals far apart to get rid of enemies and/or retreat). He can't speak in fog state, or interact with solids objects much, and his senses are limited.

Void can also swap his consciousness, and effective respawn point for his human form, to any of the portals. Tldr: teleport himself and any people and loose and less-than-door-sized objects pretty much anywhere. Justifies a 7+, I think?

Physical engagements with Null and Void tend to end with being shoved in a portal and finding yourself in Australia. Void also leaves portals open to their HQ, so you're fighting a Tinker with a shortcut straight to her workshop. Fun!

Void is the powerhouse, but his weaknesses make him pretty useless without a partner. He flows in around the vault door or whatever, the safe is there, and... now what? The way his portals work, you have to enter them with some velocity, and he can't push the safe in himself - he's barely corporeal. Exiting Breaker state kills all the portals, leaving him Just Some Guy locked inside the vault for the cops to find.

-----

Fun Facts:

One of them chose their cape name as a pun on the other's. Null would be more in-character, but Void would be funnier, so I can't decide which.

Null does not need her EMP emitter to be that big, or to look like a weapon. She's just extra (and the look on her enemies' faces when she levels a gigantic Tinkertech cannon at them, albeit as a bluff, is well worth the cost in subtlety).

Null (or rather, Nu11) has never had a copyright suit from the Yangban. She's never had ANY contact with the Yangban. She's just covering her bases.

I don't have much backstory for how they got into villainy, but I reckon one or both of them worked for hire on the Blacklist, and they ended up hired for the same job. Power and personality synergy led to them striking out as a team.

Void has more of a serious backstory and motivation, though I don't have any specifics in mind. Null is here to break shit because she gets happy shard feedback from breaking shit. The pay and cool outfits are a bonus. (She also kind of turbo-nuked her civilian ID, but she wouldn't admit to that.)

Void helps with evacuation at Endbringer fights.

Void exists for the pun and cool power synergy. Null exists for me to draw in fun sexy outfits (at least, I think they're sexy? I'm aro-ace, so not really qualified to judge). In-universe, Alicia partially created the Null cape persona to wear fun sexy outfits, as a fuck-you to the people who insinuated that if she looked or dressed differently she wouldn't have been stalked and harassed (and a fuck-you to her stalker: "I do dress slutty, just not for you").

[nye-the-ravenclaw]

Hogwarts Legacy (Modern Medical AU)

(I’m currently watching medical dramas now and I just needed to get it out of my system - I’m sorry Medical Professionals and Nursing Dept if its inaccurate. It’s lengthy so more under the cut.)

MC / Protagonist : Emergency Medicine / Trauma Surgery - Caring for illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention (ER) as well as a history in conducting surgery for trauma wounds (stab, car crashes, crushes, falls, 3rd degree burns, gunshot wounds)

Definitely someone that jumps into action and the jackknife of medicine. Able to perform under high pressure and maintaining her cool. She works alongside Head Nurse (ER) Everett Clopton who is just as high-strung, reactive and able to keep up with her. Pages medical specialists for various patients, so she sees her colleagues periodically. Ominis Gaunt does come by to discuss certain patients’ care when required but the ER is frankly too noisy and fast-paced for him. In extreme situations where there is no medical posts or other specialists available, she is able to perform trauma surgery or provide assistance.

Sebastian Sallow also likes dropping by often to check in on her unannounced (though he also secretly enjoys the heated atmosphere of the ER).

Sebastian Sallow : Cardiothorasic Surgeon - Performing surgery on organs in the chest, such as heart, lungs and esophagus

Smart, fast, performs well with the adrenaline that comes with high pressure heart and lung surgery. Withstands long hours of precision surgery, able to perform bedside manner with respect and care. His need to jump with an action that is risky and yields the most results with success makes him prime for this department as nothing can be more dangerous than taking someone’s heart out and resetting it a hair away from death if done by the untrained and the weak-hearted. And Sebastian is none of those things.

Ominis Gaunt : Public Health / Health Policy - Researching evidence-based medicine and working with physicians to improve guidelines for treatment of conditions

The blind son of the Gaunt family, a renowned powerhouse and stronghold of medicine in the country. Ominis chooses to work at their least affiliated and poorest hospital (coincidentally also the furthest). His job is purely desk-bound, assisted by Anne Sallow as they work together to improve policies and garner funds for the hospital in the name of public health. Though nothing will stop them from heading out into the field to handle cases that they prefer to approach hands on.

Anne Sallow : Infectious Diseases Specialist - Diagnosing, treating and preventing infections in patients

An expert on Infectious Diseases and was a surgeon-in-training. After she had been diagnosed with cancer, she had to give up her studies to be a surgeon. She decided on helping others instead at a higher level with Ominis. Shrewd, confident and charismatic, she and Ominis make sure the hospital is run to a t while dealing with insurance companies, philanthropists and the Gaunt family board members. She is in remission.

Natsai Onai : General Surgery - Performing surgery, treating diseases of abdomen, breast, head, neck, blood vessels, digestive tract, injured and deformed patients

The best surgeon this hospital has. She transferred over from Uagadou and with her experience, she is able to accomplish any surgery easily. With her strong need to help people, she has amassed extreme knowledge and drive to learn as many possible ways to carry out surgery on different ailments. She also allows the hospital direct affiliation with her mother hospital in Uagadou for resources and second opinions on abnormal cases.

Garreth Weasley : Pediatrics - Medical care of infants, children and adolescents

Family and children have always been a pillar of Garreth’s life. A cheerful and positive doctor, Garreth is a natural with children and has a hand in his family’s pharmaceutical company for manufacturing the branch of vitamin-based supplement chewables that are friendly for children. He is definitely an advocate of wearing a mask in his clinic as children really are the melting pot of diseases. He occasionally organises parties where he makes a lot of mind-numbing drinks for the other doctors, but those are rare as everyone never stops working and no one is willing to work hungover. He works alongside Poppy Sweeting often as their departments intersect. In a pinch, he is also able to deliver babies.

Poppy Sweeting : Obstetrician Gynaecologist - Treatment of pregnant woman, delivery of babies and the care of women’s reproductive organs and health

A firm but comforting presence in the OB/GYN unit, Poppy follows her patients from advisory stage and into the delivery room. When facing complications, she is able to keep her cool and remains a strong pillar of support for starting families. Poppy’s grandmother was an OB/GYN as well and Poppy decided to follow in her footsteps.

Leander Prewett : Oncology - Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer

With family and history in medicine, Leander follows after the footsteps of his parents who are prolific doctors, gleaning their expertise and knowledge as pioneers in Oncology. While it is a study that is rife with morbidity, Leander possesses the tenacity and drive to keep a cool head and determine the best treatment and clinical trials for his patients.

After Anne was diagnosed with cancer, Sebastian stopped by Oncology way more often than he should for Prewett’s liking as he is akin to a fireball. But after working with him, Leander finds himself open to accepting newer, and riskier forms of clinical trials with an improved set of guidelines he formulated with Sallow’s opinion. In the past, he had low confidence in himself and believed that Sebastian was better suited for Oncology than he was, but after taking on Anne as his patient and seeing Sebastian’s reactions - it cements Leander’s confidence that only those with his measured temperament can do his job.

Imelda Reyes : Neurosurgery - Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disorders that affect the nervous system, brain, spinal column, spinal cord and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system

Extremely intelligent, precise, determined and focused, Imelda possesses an eye and expertise for the human brain like no other. She does not tolerate nonsense in her office and in her operating room as one wrong move throws a patient into brain damage for life, a fate she decrees worse than death. She plays chess and sports in her spare time, her chess skills equal to being a grandmaster.

Amit Thakkar : Pharmacy - Dispensing and advising medical practitioners, patients, and nurses on safe, effective and efficient use

While it seems like a job with little excitement, it is the clear attention to detail and memory of every drug and pill in his storage that separates Amit from the rest. On top of dispensing medicine, he is also adept at chasing away unwanted abusers of his counter and is currently an advisory to procuring, discerning and looking for new drugs that could speed up patient recovery with lesser side effects.

Everett Clopton : Head Nurse with MC in Emergency Department - Directs nursing service activities in the emergency room

Everett is a trusted second-in-command to MC, and is able to handle, support her orders, and keep track of all patients and their welfare in the room. His main forte is dealing with all chains of command and patients in the chaos with a smile on his face and a sliver of veiled threats to keep them in line. He also takes time to make sure that MC is not overloading herself as she has a penchant for taking on more work than she should.

———————

(I know I’m missing some friends but they should be reserved for other areas such as anathesiologists, radiology, psychology, that sort. I might add on the Professors as well, but that is another post.)

Extra

Lucan Brattleby is definitely an intern with a flair for surgery but for which department? If anything I know he definitely idolises Sebastian and has a minor crush on MC.

[blackcatruse]

𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔰

Story Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Tokyo Civil War Era, three gangs rose to the top: Kanto Manji, Rokuhara Tandai, and Brahman. These powerhouses have been locked in a stalemate, which only serves as temporary peace. In order to truly control Tokyo, one gang has to obtain all the money, power, and status. You’re a runner for a gang affiliated with Brahman, trying to claw your way out of debt that was never yours. The deals you make turn a significant profit, but your string of luck is starting to fray. When a deal goes south, you have no choice but to work with the infamous Haitani brothers. In exchange, you were promised freedom, but as you work the jobs with them, you begin to realize that the shadows hold something larger at play.

«prev. ❃ next» ❃ m.list ❃ ao3

pairing: r. haitani/fem!reader ↳ she/her, fem descriptors, nickname ❃ chapter synopsis: Enemy territory is a perfect, totally acceptable place to do business, right? The Haitani brothers don't think so, even if you do. word count: 1.4k chapter cw(s): swearing, physical violence, drug mention, death mention a/n: okay so, this is... loosely attached to the three deities arc. canon is just a suggestion, but because it's a stupid ass suggestion, i have elected to ignore it. i also threw in a ton of OCs, more than i was expecting too, oops. was not beta read & minimally edited. beware possible ooc

Being on enemy territory wasn’t on your to-do list for a Friday night, but the deal was important and the man you were supposed to be meeting said it had to be done here. Your boss said to do whatever you could to make it happen because it would make a huge profit. So here you are, decorated by neon pink and purple lights. The floor of the club was filled with moving bodies and reeked of sweat and alcohol. The thumping bass of the music vibrated the ice in your drink. Goddamn, if you weren’t annoyed. It was already nearing midnight and you hadn’t seen a lick of the man you were meeting. You couldn’t leave, but you also didn’t want to be seen here. You tried to stay in the shadows as much as possible, but you had already shooed away a few men that tried to hit on you, offer you a drink, or try to get you on the dancefloor.

You glanced down at your phone with a frown. There were no messages to be seen. Taking another sip of your drink, you scanned the sea of people writhing in the black lights. Maybe you should just go outside.

“What’s a pretty thing like you sittin’ all lonely?” A heavyset man plopped into the booth across from you. He smelled like a liquor cabinet.

You put on your best smile. “I’m just waiting on someone.” You stared over the man’s head and immediately saw the mule you were looking for. “Actually, he just got here. Sorry, got to go!”

Cursing men under your breath, you got up and weaved your way to him. His tattoos and piercings lined up with what you were told. You didn’t know his name, just an alias. But if you were being honest, you didn’t give him your real name either. The music made it almost impossible to speak without yelling, but when you came into his field of vision, he stared intently. You held up four fingers. He nodded and jerked his head towards the door.

Outside was far colder than the inside of the club. Your leather jacket did little for you. Both of you were in a narrow alleyway, underneath a flickering streetlight. Neither of you spoke, but you broke the silence. “Yon?” you asked.

A smirk, followed by, “Ah, so you’re Suzaku’s little Lotus.”

“Has your boss considered our offer?”

“Straight to the chase, I like that in a woman.”

If you were going to start a fight, you would inevitably lose. This monster of a man probably had a good eight or nine inches on you and at least a hundred pounds more muscle. You settled for a slight tick in your jaw. “You know that we’re experts at trafficking all sorts of things,” you said. “Running your drugs and dirty money would be a simple task.”

“Don’t you think Wuxing is getting a little greedy? You aren’t even a big name, just a subsection of Brahman. You have no negotiating power,” Yon scoffed. “Boss says he would consider it if you dropped your fees, then we could make something work.”

“Our rates are considerably lower, especially considering your gang isn’t well known either. You wanna get footing around here? You work with us.”

“Ambitious, aren’t we?”

“You know just as well as I do that money is power. Imagine how much money we could make you by running your goods through Shinjuku.”

“We’re not sure that profit will outweigh the costs. We’d rather run it ourselves in that case.”

It was your turn to scoff. “Brahman would never let you. They’d wipe you out in a second. But if you work with us, Brahman doesn’t know what we’re up to. We cover our tracks and we turn enough profit that the higher ups are willing to turn a blind eye.”

“Tell you what, we’ll think about it some more. Let Suzaku know he needs to send someone else other than his prized Lotus.”

With that, Yon turned and left. You knew this was something that could go south, but you figured the temptation of money would be enough. No, Yon was too smart for his own good. You should’ve met with someone dumber, but Yon’s boss started strong out the gate. Dammit. What were you going to tell Suzaku? Your string of luck with deals was running out, and it wouldn’t be long before he decided he was through with you.

You punched the brick wall next to you hard, ignoring the pain that seared down your arm. How had everything in your pitiful life come down to this? You could be at a university now. You could be on the path to an honest living, but no. That was never going to happen. There was blood on your hands that would never come off. It wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to in order to survive, but you couldn’t stay afloat much longer.

Damn your brother for getting tangled up in business with Wuxing. You could’ve had a normal life, but he had to go and fuck everything up for you. His debts were suddenly your debts when the leader of Wuxing decided your brother was worthless. Not only that, but your brother had tried to sell you like some kind of broodmare. At that moment, you realized that the older brother who was supposed to protect you didn’t care about you at all. You didn’t flinch or look away when the bullet went between his eyes. You didn’t feel anything except white hot rage.

You could have had a normal life. Instead you were making back alley deals and running money, drugs, and weapons. All to pay off a debt that would never truly go away.

Hefting a sigh, you glanced at your skinned knuckles. Yeah, that was gonna sting later. Well, you’d deal with everything tomorrow. You had a meeting with Suzaku. You’d tell him you weren’t successful, get the shit kicked out of you, and try again later.

“Well, well, what do we have here? A little mouse straying into enemy territory?” A deep voice behind you startled you, but before you could make a run for it a rough hand grabbed the collar of your jacket. You were lifted slightly off the ground and you couldn’t kick at your attacker.

Shit. You knew better than to panic and instead shucked off your jacket as quickly as possible. You hit the pavement with an unceremonious thud before sprinting away. You can’t say you didn’t try, but you really should have anticipated the person that tackled you. Before you could even process what was happening you were on the ground, your right arm prisoner and your upper body pinned by a pair of legs. Goddammit. You really were in trouble now.

“She’s fast, bro,” a voice said, you could almost hear the shit-eating grin.

You couldn’t struggle, but you heard the nonchalant footsteps. There was a painful tug on your arm, but you refused to scream. You didn’t want to meet in Minato ward for this exact reason, but Yon insisted or else the deal was off completely. Why, for the love of any deities that existed, would he want to do business where Rokuhara Tandai ruled? Especially when the gang had the S62 generation among them. Getting caught would basically be a death sentence, though, you supposed it was your fault for lingering too long.

You tilted your head up to see a tall, lanky silhouette outlined by the streetlights. A baton twirled in one of his twin braids. You were familiar with your captors. In your line of work, you’d be stupid to not recognize the Haitani brothers. There was Ran who loved beating anyone senseless by any means necessary, and then there was Rindou, who would trap you and break any limb he caught.

Another jerk of your arm had you gritting your teeth, but you wouldn’t give in. You’d had worse. They wouldn’t get the pleasure of your fear.

The tip of the baton touched your face as Ran leaned down to get a closer look at you. It trailed down your cheek almost sensually before it went underneath your chin. “I would really hate to mar such a pretty face,” he cooed.

You heard something crack as Rindou pulled harder. Tears welled in your eyes, but your lips stayed sealed.

“Wow, you’re tough,” Ran remarked, sounding rather impressed. His boot came down on your face with a sickening crunch. Stars danced in your vision and blood gushed from your nose. You still didn’t make a sound. You’d had worse beatings, and you didn’t want them to have any satisfaction. So you spit your blood at the older Haitani, and that’s the last thing you remember before blacking out.

Thanks for checking out my self-indulgent little story! I hope you enjoyed. Have a great day <3 I had wanted to post this earlier, but life got in the way and then i wanted to make a fancy banner, but i didn't have the skills so i asked a friend to do it (she did awesome). the concept was mine, but the art is hers lol

Please do not reupload, translate, or steal my work! If it isn't here or on my ao3, it's not me!

Can't wait? Ao3 has more chapters posted!

Banner Credit: @/cafekitsune

[keep-the-wolves-close]

The Hound’s Pursuit

Chapter 1: Crossroads of Chaos

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the movie Triple Frontier and I don’t claim to have created its original characters. The only characters that belong to me are Juniper and JD. This is posted for pure entertainment, and I do not make profit off of this.

Warnings: mentions of violence, language, PTSD (I think), tension between old friends, mentions of dead bodies, anxiety, dread, loss.

Pairing: Will “Ironhead” Miller x Juniper “Hound” Winters

Word Count: 2,629ish

Author’s Note: I hope you all enjoy! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! A little nervous about this one.

“No,” Juniper’s face sharpened intensely at her older brother’s buddy Santiago from special ops, who breezed in through the door to the bar. “Absolutely not.” She frowned as she observed Santiago searching for the room, and when he spotted the siblings he strutted the rest of the way over to them.

Pope called out to grab her brother’s attention. “Deadeye!”

Juni felt her shoulders tense. Every time this man showed up, some hare-brained scheme was attached and it left her waiting in the wings worried sick about whether or not her brother, friends, and herself would come back in one piece.

JD screwed his face up at her reaction to their friend. He understood her trepidation when it came to Pope showing up out of the blue, but he’d welcome any of his friends with open arms any time. Pope had an over the shoulder laptop bag that he swiftly set down next to a chair on JD's side of the table. Pope set a black plastic clipboard, the kind that had storage once you opened it, down on the table.

Juni eyed it suspiciously, remembering the day he’d come to her and JD to ask for help with the last mission in Brazil taking down the well known criminal powerhouse that was Lorea. They were rich for a few short days. Until they weren’t. The thought of how Redfly’s family was making out crossed her mind.

To Juni, the bar suddenly felt like the locker room at the gym before Benny’s fight, the night Pope gathered them all to sell his scheme. The whole group gathered together, debating whether to trust Pope’s latest get rich scheme or not. Whether they could even achieve it. Juni laid her reservations of the cons outweighing the pros out on the floor before Benny bit at them to focus because he was going into his fight.

She remembered the look Will gave her like it was yesterday. The silent agreement with her solid points. Juni looked back to the clipboard. Unless they were files from the job he’d just come off of, Juniper just knew that meant he was here on business. She’d only ever seen that portable clipboard when he was working.

The last time he’d shown up brought chaotic planning and action. They went from being together, watching Benny fight, to being in Brazil seeing the arsenal Pope had acquired over the years, within 24 hours. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this time was no different. She could smell chaos brewing from that clipboard. The feeling of the heavy weight of her holding Redfly’s body wrapped up made her shudder. The memory of carrying her fallen friend made nausea creep up her throat.

Her mind worked quickly to figure out what Pope could be up to. Could it be Lorea’s son? A family member? Someone Lorea worked closely with wanting revenge? No, the family hadn’t gotten a good enough look at them on the way out. Could it be another big guy Pope had been gunning for since becoming a full time hired gun advisor? She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Her breathing sped up as all of the endless possibilities sped through her mind. The mumbles of conversation swirled around her and the clinking of the glasses were an ample reminder of the war going on in her mind. The dim lights, almost deafeningly bright.

JD rose from his chair and clapped hands with the subject of Juniper’s ire. The intrusive noise added to her annoyance. “Hey man, good to see ya! Didn’t know you were back in town,” he chuckled, cutting through the tension between his sister and Pope. The men slapped each other on the back and released each other. JD welcomed Pope with an easy grin, oblivious to his sister’s internal battle. All Juniper could feel was dread pooling in her stomach. The last few times he had shown up brought nothing but chaos and extra therapy sessions.

Juni glanced between the clipboard and her brother. Her heart thudded in her chest as she wondered if JD had already been roped into whatever Pope had come here to discuss. Part of her wanted to shield JD from anymore trauma, but she knew he would make his own decision regardless of her fears. During the mission in Brazil, they’d come close to losing everything. She couldn’t let that happen again.

It was like her brother could feel her rising anxiety. JD knew Pope probably had some idea in his head, and considering how the last one ended, it was a shot in the dark on whether he would accept it or not. Despite the warmth of the bar reddening his cheeks, he felt the bite of the cold air of the upper Andes snap at his face and a shot rang out in his head. A flash of Redfly falling forward, and their special ops brother’s blood splattering across his face crossed his mind.

He shook his head and pulled himself out of the memory feeling his breathing begin to slow down and even out from the almost hollow breaths the memory had caused him to take. He rubbed his fingers against his palms trying to get rid of the sweat that had started to push through his pores. A wave of survivor’s guilt hit him. He didn’t blame Pope. It could have happened to any of them. It was just bad luck. He still trusted Pope, but after Redfly, it was a shaky foundation that his blind acceptance stood on. He glanced down before meeting Juni’s gaze.

He looked her over, catching her straight back and the fidgeting of her trigger finger and silently shook his head. Juni felt her chest release ever so slightly when she spotted the slight hesitation in her brother’s eyes. At least she wasn’t about to be barraged with the news that her brother would be heading off on some idiotic mission.

“Yeah it was a last minute thing. I didn’t even know until this morning.” Pope paused to glance in Juniper’s direction. Her face remained unchanged from the foul, unamused look. A slow smirk spread across Pope’s lips. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the ankle biter! How you been, Juni?”

A voice boomed out from by the entryway, “Pope, JD!”

Juniper blanched when she realized who the voice belonged to. Something was off. Benny and Frankie showing up and at the same time as her and her brother, definitely smelled like Pope was up to something. She loved Benny and Frankie like brothers, but they never showed up at the same time unless it was planned. She glared over at JD while he was occupied with the commotion of his brethren showing up.

“Benny boy!” Pope spun around with his arms outstretched, his antagonization of Juniper forgotten. Following behind Benny, the other heathen of the group, Frankie stepped into the bar. Benny’s brother, Will, strode through the door last.

She leaned against the back of her chair and propped her elbow along the top of her seat, observing four out of the five men act like children. Seeing all of them so carefree and happy, even for a few minutes, made a soft grin sprout on her face. As much as Pope’s presence had her on edge, she didn’t really hate him. She just wished he wouldn’t bring trouble around as much. Nothing could ever be a simple visit for Pope.

Catching Will’s eyes glimmering at her between the guys, Juniper’s smile widened at the quietest Miller. She and Will were the most moderately tempered of the group. The ones who had the most control of their tempers, anyhow. Choosing their words carefully, the logistical, analytical thinkers. The observers.

When the group was together, they often sat quietly with each other, keeping a watchful eye on the rest of the troublemaking group. They talked, but more often than not the conversations were non-verbal. Slight nods here, gentle touches there. If there was one thing William Miller was good at doing, it was speaking with his eyes. Will parted his way through the group and opened his arms to her.

Juni stood slowly and moved towards Will. She felt the eyes of her brother and the rest of the gang lock onto her as she returned Will’s open arms. His warm voice caressed her ear as he leaned into the hug, “Junebug.” Goosebumps blossomed down her neck from the sound of the nickname he had given her years ago. Her heart fluttered at the affection.

She was tempted to tell herself that it was a particular mission, or an exact moment that she’d gained a soft spot for Will. But she knew the truth. The second those stony blue eyes batted their lashes at her, she’d been a goner.

With her face tucked into his shoulder, she murmured, “Hey, Will.” His warmth felt like a safety net from Pope’s chaotic presence and the storm that always trailed behind him. The goosebumps continued to sprout along her spine when he splayed his hands on her back, anchoring her.

“So, you less mad that I’m here now?” Pope’s voice cut through the moment, ripping her out of the cocoon of enchantment Will always seemed to wrap her in.

Juniper hesitantly pulled away from Will, the loss of his warmth snapping her back to reality when Pope’s words settled in. “No, actually. I’m not.”

Pope sputtered at her admission.

“Because when you show your face, you’ve got some wild get rich quick scheme that’s dangerous and life threatening.” Everyone’s face darkened when they thought of Brazil.

Pope reached down next to the table and picked up a laptop bag. He laid it on the table, keeping his eyes on his hands, and pushed it toward Juni. Looking up at her through his thick lashes, “but with you there JR,” he turned on the charm but Juni’s face remained sharp, “we’ll have the best Hound on the scent.”

Juni’s heart dropped at his use of her special ops nicknames sending unwanted thoughts and flashes screaming in her mind. Redfly taking too long because he got greedy, messing up the timing of the plan. The Lorea family almost catching them. Crashing in the mountains. She steeled her face and squared her shoulders. Memories of crash landing at the top of the Andes, and the kid from the village attacking them took over her mind. The group almost lost everything the last time. She couldn’t sit and watch it happen again. “Absolutely not.”

Pope’s face became crestfallen at her quick dismissal. Juni’s eyes fell to the floor. She knew Pope was just trying to give them opportunities to make the rest of their lives easy, but the repercussions that inevitably followed weren’t always worth the weight of the risk.

Pope scoffed at her refusal. “C’mon Juni, you're the key to making this work.”

“Me being there the last time didn’t stop anything! What would it stop this time?!”

“That’s exactly why we need you, Juni. To make sure it doesn’t happen again. We both know you’re the best chance we have. Me and the guys are lost without you.”

“Do you honestly think —,” her words began to tumble out in panic. Will placed a hand on her lower back to offer comfort. Benny and Frankie shot each other concerned glances at Juni raising her voice. She was like Will and didn’t do it often. “Getting caught with my pants around my ankles in the fuckin’ jungle isn’t exactly something I wanna do again. I almost didn’t get us out of the tight spot we were in then.”

“You and Benny got outta there just fine! You’re a deadly combo!” Pope continued to lay on the convincing. “You and Will are a fatal pair. If you two knock your heads together on this one, we’ll be set!”

“Pope, what the fuck?” JD yelled when he noticed the military posture pulled out of his sister. A sense of guilt hit him, realizing just how much Pope affected her with his words, and how often he’d let it happen. A sense of protectiveness washed over him toward his sister and he glared at Pope. The bullet scar she carried reminded him of the stakes at hand.

“There’s a reason we called her the Hound, JD.” Pope tried to smooth his proposition to Juni over. “For this one we’d need a little more recon than the last one. She’s the best person for it.”

Juni glanced at Will, his fingers gently rubbing her lower back. There was trepidation in his eyes. He wanted to trust that Pope knew what he was doing, but after Brazil, he wasn’t so sure how far he would jump for Pope anymore. Juni could see that Will was hesitant. She knew exactly what she had to do because no one else would.

“Santiago Garcia, I said no,” her voice was harsh and raw. She grabbed her jacket and purse. Thinking about all the ways whatever Pope’s idea was could go wrong. She gave a sharp look at her brother. “Joseph Winters,” he winced at her tone, “if I even hear the slightest hint that you’re going to go along with whatever his idiotic plan is? So help me god.”

She gave an irritated look to the rest of the group. They should know better after the last time. “We’re not the fucking Avengers.” She paused, hoping the statement would bring everybody back down off the ledge. “We can’t save everyone. Hell, we barely made it out of —,” her voice caught and her hands balled into fists shaking with rage, fingernails digging into her palms — “Brazil alive.”

“Look Juni,” Pope tried to calm her, holding his hands out in surrender. “I get it. But this time is different. I can’t do this without you.” She looked like she was ready to throw a punch, and Benny sidled up next to her and his brother, ready to jump in and stop the fury that was Juniper Winters.

Pope took a step back, seeing the turbulent violence behind her eyes. The air around the group shifted. It popped and crackled with Juni’s anger. Seeing Benny come between them, brought an understanding to the situation he hadn’t had before. He pointed to the laptop, “with that information and any other details you find, you’ll be the most knowledgeable person in the group. You’ll know the terrain, how many people, you’ll have maps and rap sheets, blueprints. Security details. You’ll be the best equipped person to keep us alive.”

Juni stood between Benny and Will, chewing on her lip as she stared at the ground. Pope’s voice softened, making her look up at him. “Meet up with us tomorrow and at least hear me out first.”

Will gave Juni’s waist a soft pinch. She moved her gaze over to him. The look Will was giving her told her he understood her reservations. He squeezed her side, letting Juni know that if she decided to be there, he’d have her back the entire time.

Juni huffed at Pope while holding eye contact with Will. The healed bullet wound gave a phantom throb as she weighed everything. If she went and didn’t like what she heard, she could leave. It would be as simple as that. On the other hand, she wouldn’t be able to watch over her brother if she didn’t go. Or the guys. “Okay, fine.”

Pope prematurely celebrated. “Yes!”

Juni held out a finger to Pope, effectively shutting him up. “But I reserve the right at any time to tell you all you’re a bunch of fuckin’ dumbasses and leave.” She looked through the group, letting her point sink in. Frigid fear of uncertainty freezing her.

[yourultraarchive]

Understanding class assignments in UA and Japanese schools in general

In the Student Template Questionnaire, there is one particular question I realized had never been addressed, that I think a lot of people should understand the nuances of!

What school/class or organization do they belong to?

This is the question that fills out the "Affiliation" line of the "Personal Data" section student template:

So, if your character is a student, what class should they be a part of?

First of all, let's talk about structure:

Japanese high school is only 3 years, unlike American high school which is usually 4. (I'm sure other countries are different too, but I'm assuming most of the people who visit this blog are American-centric.) Given that, that means Izuku and his friends in their first year of high school are actually in the equivalent of American 10th grade, which is usually in the 14-15 year old age range.

Unlike American high school, where students are separated by class schedule and students have to leave the classroom every period to physically go to their next class (ie. you have Chemistry in first period and History in fifth period, but your friend from Chemistry in first period could have Art in fifth period instead), with the class rosters changing every semester, Japanese high school students are assigned one class (like 1-A or 1-B, or so on) which they stick to for the rest of their school career. This means they have the same classmates every single year, which is why the homeroom teacher is so central--they ALSO stick around for the entirety of the students' school careers! Homeroom teachers are more than teachers, they're more like parents or guardians relationship-wise, and keeping the same one throughout the students' school career lets them build trust, enough so that if the student is having any personal issues, they'd feel comfortable talking to their homeroom teacher about it. (As an aside, as well, usually these classes stay in one single classroom too, with the exception of classes that need special facilities like PE or Home Ec, which really drives home the idea that "Homeroom" really is supposed to be "home" for both the students and teacher! And unlike in American high school, the students don't change classrooms every period--the teachers do!)

The classrooms are not actually physically labelled, so 1-A is not a classroom number assigned to a specific room. The names of these family-like classroom units are designated by the YEAR the students are in, with the letter just being their assigned grouping. (AKA they're the first 20 students so they get "A", and the next 20 students get designated "B", and so on.)

Student numbers (ie. Izuku being student no.18) and seating order are determined by alphabetical order. Specifically Japanese alphabetical order.

So what does that all mean for Class 1-A?

Formally, they're not actually called Class 1-A, they're actually just Class A. They're 1-A because this is their first year of high school (which, as mentioned before, is the equivalent of American 10th grade, but if you were going to use American terms, it'd be more accurate to call them "freshmen" instead of "sophomore" like 10th graders are supposed to be), but when they move on to the next school year, they don't keep that name. In their second year of high school, they'd be Class 2-A, and in their final year of high school, they'd be Class 3-A!

So, for example, the Big Three being in class 3-B? That means that when they were first-years, they were in class 1-B! (That being said, the "A" and "B" and so on are not the designation of student ranking, like the UA entrance exam scoreboard might lead you to believe--I had a few friends who thought that, but it's not actually the case that 1-A has stronger or smarter or just overall higher-ranked members than 1-B. It's random, just like any other high school rosters are made! It just seems like 1-A has a lot of powerhouses because they're the main characters, but that's not to say 1-B is any less skilled or powerful than them. If this all was the case, I highly doubt our esteemed Big Three trio would have been in Class 1-B all the way up to 3-B!)

This also applies to the other classes, like the Support Course or Gen Ed. They may be labelled "1-C" or "1-E" or whatever else, but again, those Letter designations are just their grouping, not their ranking within the school, especially since it would have been really hard to quantify if the Support Couse was less powerful than the Hero Course. UA just happened to designate the first 40 students as Hero Course, the next 60 as Gen Ed, and etc etc for Business and Support too.

As for the student order within the classrooms themselves? Again, not a determination of power, it's just a simple matter of alphabetical order by last name. If you're standing at the front of the classroom looking out at the desks, the seating arrangement starts at the leftmost side of the room ("A" names), going front to back (not left to right like Americans might!), and then going to the next row to the right, and so on. (In the following image taken from the MHA wiki, the "front left" of the classroom is Aoyama, and the "bottom right" is Momo. Though keep in mind that the alphabetical order here is based on the Japanese alphabet, not the American one.)

Now, what does that mean for YOUR characters?

Well, if you want to have your characters be in the same class as the canon characters, certainly feel free to put them in 1-A or 1-B! (Keep in mind though that class sizes in Japan tend to stick around 20, but you can play by your own rules for your own story/rp/whatever.) However, if you want them to be in the same class as the canon 1-A but you've listed your character as 17? They wouldn't be in 1-A, they'd probably be 3-A. (17 is a bit of a nebulous age though, so it depends on what year you'd have them in--if they're "seniors", they'd absolutely be in their 3rd year, but if you think they have another year of schooling ahead of them, maybe put them in 2-A?)

If you want to put them in their own class entirely instead of bunching them in with the canon 1-A or 1-B? Make a whole new classroom if you want! Assign them to 1-C (and push back the Gen Ed Course and the others another letter, if you plan to involve them) since the courses seem to be grouped together and it'd be weird to have a new Hero Course be assigned 1-L or something when the others are A and B--though you could do that if you want to! Up to you!

Similarly, if your character isn't in the Hero Course at all, assign them a different classroom like 1-C or 1-H or whatever! (I don't remember which letters were assigned to each course, but I'm sure you can look it up if you really want to know it rather than making up the assignments for yourself.)

Also, if your character doesn't go to UA at all? The same rules apply. Shiketsu High School and all the rest have their own 1-A, 2-B, etc. And even middle school has the same structure, since like high school, it's also 3 years! Izuku and Bakugou would have been in year 3 of middle school at the start of the series.

Finally, regarding the seating order: I see a lot of people put their characters at the end/last row of the classroom, should they be added to the canon classes, which is totally okay of course! But if you want your character to be there from the start, they'd probably have their own permanent seat number. If you plan on using the Japanese alphabet arrangement, just look at a Japanese kana chart and see where they would go in the roster--for instance, if Kojiro Bondo from 1-B were in 1-A, his seat would be right between Bakugou and Midoriya (because "ho/bo" comes after "ha/ba", and both of those come before any M names).

If you don't plan to use the Japanese alphabetical order, then you can feel free to use the English order if you like (especially if you're not mixing with the canon classes which already have their own established orders you may not want to mess with) or, as with American high schools, don't use an order at all and let the students just sit where they want. Up to you!

Hopefully that helps you understand how to enroll your character in school!

One last note? This is specifically for character designing more than development, but each department has its own school uniform! It's very subtle, but the epaulettes (I think that's what they're called?), lapels, and cuffs of the uniform jackets all have different stripe designs and arrangements/number of buttons!

That's all for now. Hope these tips help!

[nature420world]

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[seeksstaronmewni]

7 years have passed since Samurai Jack got back to the past...

Highlights of events regarding Genndy Tartakovsky and the like during this time include the following:

Genndy in interviews talked about the importance of visual storytelling (including an obvious disliking for "This is me"-type openings in animated movies), reducing dialogue in the script for a sexual animated comedy called Fixed (produced by New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures Animation, and Renegade Animation), and the viewpoint that "Character design informs posing, and it all works together."

Samurai Jack has the Checkered Past lineup on [adult swim] joined, airing on Fridays (soon to be Thursdays) at 6:00 PM... technically like around 5:59 PM, due to other Checkered Past shows having end credits time-compressed. Cartoon Network's social media accounts promoted this with a clip from EPISODE XCVIII, which is the second post they made regarding specifically Season 5 since their first one, in which they used Mao Mao x Samurai Jack fan art to promote Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time... which is now deleted due to Warner Bros. Discovery purging Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart in an effort to save $3 billion.

Speaking of WBD's animation purge: Cartoon Network Studios' building is now abandoned as the crew was forced to relocate to a new building joining Warner Bros. Animation with affiliate CNS as another cost-cutting move. The Cartoon Network logo on the building was originally moved to the new building, but it was soon sold off letter by letter.

As if things couldn't grow worse; after MGM (on the home entertainment level, still an affiliate with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment/Studio Distribution Services) turned 100, Primal Screen, the studio behind much of Cartoon Network's branding including the Powerhouse era, announced that they were to shut down (likely due to financial issues - thanks a lot Warner Bros. Discovery). Buck's Pastel / Prism / Split-Screen branding is by far the cheapest, blandest, and ugliest one CN ever used, and the negative consequences of Discovery on Turner & WB make this era of CN truly the worse, with little sign of any improvement in their branding and their programming.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal got the ACME Night marathons and airings it was promised to have, but that is unlikely to happen again since Cartoon Network stopped at 5PM with the debut of Checkered Past, causing ACME Night to be part of [as] as well (that may be just technical laziness on Discovery's part - they're already forcing Turner channels to use Discovery's rating & closed captioned screenbugs). Any future airing of Unicorn on TV, if any, so far will remain with the [adult swim] label, even on ACME Night (even though it was supposed to be for CN).

Relative to samurai in general; the Looney Tunes Cartoons episode "Yosemite Samurai" made its TV debut on Cartoon Network, though airing minutes earlier than the 9:30 AM schedule due to longer episode lengths.

Teen Titans GO! celebrated the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. in October 2024 (was planned for September but was pushed in part due to revisions), and apparently "JACK, SAMURAI" was on the list! Dexter and Dee Dee, along with The Powerpuff Girls (in altered versions of the 2016 models), made cameos as well.

Tara Strong (a Zionist Jew and the voice of Ashi as well as Ilana Lunis) became controversial due to posts she made and liked speaking against the attacks against Jews by the Hamas, a terrorist group in Palestine. I may suffer from flack over this, but I honestly doubt that she is ultimately racist with the people of Palestine in general - just speaking against a terrorist group in Palestine killing people of her own race. May be that we're just too woke about racism?

The Powerpuff Girls Season 10 (the Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe revival; I personally count the 2016 "reboot" as Seasons 7-9 for a number of reasons) is still in production with people from Titmouse on the crew.

Dexter's Laboratory: The Complete Series DVD is set to release in June 2024... featuring the long overdue official US DVD release of Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip! There was a planned US DVD release long ago.

Warner Bros. may be 101 years old now (impressive considering that Discovery put them at over 60% risk of bankruptcy by December 2023), but they're not finished with celebrating their 100th anniversary; a screening of various WB (and affiliate-owned) shorts including Cartoon Network episodes like Dexter's Laboratory and the Steven Universe pilot "The Time Thing" (on which Genndy was the timing director) was announced for Annecy 2024.

Relative to a block that Samurai Jack used to rerun on; [adult swim] announced another nostalgic block: Toonami Rewind! This is so far exclusive to anime.

Personally, Cartoon Network entering into the Pastel era was bad enough, but Discovery exercising more control of WB affiliate Turner Broadcasting System pretty much killed CN for me (regardless of the many older shows airing on special occasions that weren't rerun on the network in years and even decades). I still remain faithful to a fair extent to CN, but, as you can see, there's a lot about the animation industry that's crumbling.

I'll add more to this post if I find anything else that happened.

Highlights of Year Passing 1

Highlights of Year Passing 2

Highlights of Year Passing 3

Highlights of Year Passing 4

Highlights of Year Passing 5 (incomplete; I know)

Highlights of Year Passing 6 (also incomplete)

[playstationvii]

Game Description for Red Hulk: SMASH

Enter the world of raw power, destruction, and moral ambiguity in Red Hulk: SMASH, an epic action-adventure game exclusively for the PlayStation 7. As Red Hulk, you are a walking force of nature, driven by a fierce, unrelenting rage that only destruction can appease. Once a high-ranking military general, now transformed into an unstoppable powerhouse, Red Hulk grapples with his newfound monstrous abilities while facing enemies from all sides, including heroes, villains, and shadowy organizations that threaten global stability.

Red Hulk: SMASH isn’t just about mindless destruction; it’s a journey of strategic mayhem. Each mission presents unique environmental challenges and tactical puzzles that only Red Hulk's brutal strength can solve. Players will have to think as much as they smash, combining devastating combos, unique power-ups, and adaptive strategies to tear down enemies and obstacles alike.

Venture across war-torn landscapes, secret military bases, urban environments, and experimental labs, encountering iconic Marvel characters along the way. As the plot unfolds, Red Hulk must choose whether to be a weapon for the government, a rogue force of nature, or something more. Allies will prove to be just as dangerous as enemies, as Hulk must navigate alliances with other heroes and anti-heroes in the Marvel universe.

Can you control the rage? Or will you let it consume you? Embrace the power, face the darkness within, and prepare to SMASH your way to a new era of superhero games!

Features:

Dynamic Combat System: Utilize a range of powerful, destructible moves, chaining together devastating combos to bring down foes and entire buildings.

Environmental Destruction: Experience fully destructible environments, with physics-driven collapses, debris interactions, and enemy ambushes emerging from every corner.

Morality-Based Decisions: Shape Red Hulk’s path as an anti-hero or rogue agent, impacting missions, allies, and endings.

Iconic Marvel Cameos: Battle alongside or against familiar faces from the Marvel universe, including Hulk, Wolverine, and more.

Intense Boss Battles: Face massive enemies with unique abilities, each requiring Red Hulk’s strength and wit to overcome.

Upgrade and Evolution System: Customize Red Hulk's abilities with a deep upgrade system, unlocking new powers, resistance levels, and combat styles.

Next-Gen Graphics: Powered by the PlayStation 7, immerse yourself in hyper-realistic visuals with stunning lighting, particle effects, and seamless open-world environments.

Are you ready to unleash Red Hulk’s rage on the world?

To expand upon Red Hulk as an antihero within the world of #enXantingNoir and #TheeDarkKnight, let's craft a character profile that adds complexity and fits the darker, morally ambiguous tone of a noir-inspired Gotham. In this universe, Red Hulk could represent a wild card whose allegiance shifts based on personal motives and the greater balance of power, rather than traditional notions of good or evil. Here’s a deeper look into how we could integrate Red Hulk into this world, with elements inspired by both DC and Marvel's noir aesthetics.

Character Profile: Red Hulk (General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross)

Alias: Red Hulk, Code-Named Crimson Beast

Affiliations: Unpredictably aligned—sometimes assists The Dark Knight (Batman), other times coerced or hired by Gotham’s rogues gallery

Base of Operations: Gotham’s Industrial Quarters, known for factories and rusting warehouses—a stark contrast to Bruce Wayne’s world of high society

Backstory

In this #enXantingNoir universe, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, known as Red Hulk, finds himself in Gotham after a government "containment" experiment gone wrong. While initially tasked with capturing meta-human threats for the military, Ross’s transformation into Red Hulk was seen as a failure due to his uncontrollable nature. His exile to Gotham serves as both punishment and containment, as his presence alone acts as a deterrent to Gotham’s more uncontrollable criminals.

Ross was once a decorated general who viewed Gotham's criminal infestation with disdain, seeing it as a breeding ground for chaos that the federal government neglected. Now, as Red Hulk, he sees himself as a force capable of purging the city’s criminal underbelly. However, Gotham’s atmosphere has a way of corrupting those who enter its fold, and Ross soon finds himself torn between his own sense of justice and the lure of Gotham’s criminal underworld.

Character Dynamics

Relationship with The Dark Knight

An Uneasy Alliance: Batman, always wary of vigilantes who use brute force, sees Red Hulk as a necessary evil. They share a mutual understanding that Gotham is a city of shades of gray, where traditional moral boundaries are constantly tested.

Occasional Allies, Reluctant Rivals: Red Hulk’s penchant for destructive solutions puts him at odds with Batman’s more precise methods. While Batman relies on skill, fear, and strategy, Red Hulk represents raw power and the devastation he can unleash. However, Red Hulk respects Batman’s mental prowess and tactical skills, seeing in him a rare intelligence that is nearly on par with his own military acumen.

Confrontations with No-Win Scenarios: When they do clash, it’s because Red Hulk is willing to cross lines Batman won’t. This creates tense standoffs, where Batman might find himself strategizing just to control the beast within Red Hulk.

Relationship with Gotham's Rogues Gallery

The Criminals' “Nuclear Option”: Gotham’s villains, from Penguin to Bane, know the power Red Hulk possesses. Villains might attempt to manipulate or pay him off to remove certain obstacles or to serve as muscle, even though they know he’s as likely to turn on them as he is to help.

Targeted by Manipulative Minds: Characters like The Riddler and Scarecrow see Red Hulk as a potential pawn, constantly trying to manipulate or trap him to exploit his strength. Yet, because Red Hulk's mind is still intact despite his transformation, he resists most attempts at control—adding to his mystique and making him a target for psychological games.

Respect Amongst Physical Threats: Bane, Killer Croc, and Solomon Grundy see Red Hulk as the ultimate “warrior,” someone who may share their violent instincts but does so with purpose. They test their strength against him in brutal encounters, leading to scenes of pure spectacle and fury across Gotham’s back alleys and abandoned factories.

Powers and Abilities

Red Hulk's Powers and Abilities for Red Hulk: SMASHIn Red Hulk: SMASH, players will tap into the intense, destructive powers of Red Hulk, a character defined by his raw strength, adaptability, and relentless rage. Unlike the original Hulk, Red Hulk possesses unique abilities tailored to his specific physiology, background, and tactical approach to combat. Here’s an in-depth look at the powers and abilities players will wield in the game:---Core Abilities:1. Superhuman StrengthPower Description: Red Hulk’s strength rivals and often exceeds that of the Hulk, allowing him to lift, throw, or smash anything in his path. His strength scales with his anger, which means he grows even more powerful the longer the fight lasts.In-Game Mechanics: Players can level up Red Hulk’s strength as they progress, unlocking moves that allow him to throw larger objects (like cars, tanks, and even helicopters) or deliver powerful punches that can create shockwaves.2. Thermal Radiation EmissionPower Description: When enraged, Red Hulk begins to emit massive amounts of heat, capable of melting steel or causing combustibles around him to ignite. This heat is a double-edged sword; while it makes him deadly in close combat, it drains his energy and leaves him vulnerable if overused.In-Game Mechanics: Players can activate Heat Mode in bursts to deal intense damage to enemies within a radius. However, prolonged use causes an overheat effect, where Red Hulk’s health depletes slowly, forcing players to use this ability tactically.3. Rage AmplificationPower Description: Unlike Hulk, who becomes stronger with anger but less in control, Red Hulk’s rage amplifies his abilities while maintaining tactical precision. As he fights, his rage meter fills, allowing access to more advanced and devastating abilities.In-Game Mechanics: The Rage Meter fills as Red Hulk deals or takes damage. Once full, players can activate Rage Mode, giving Red Hulk access to special moves, faster attacks, and temporary invincibility. Rage Mode also makes him immune to stuns, allowing relentless offense.---Unique Abilities:1. Seismic Ground PoundPower Description: Red Hulk slams the ground with incredible force, creating a seismic shockwave that knocks down and damages all enemies within range. This move is especially effective in crowded enemy zones and can demolish obstacles.In-Game Mechanics: When activated, Red Hulk’s ground pound deals area-of-effect damage, stuns enemies, and causes parts of the environment to crumble. Upgrading this move increases the shockwave’s radius and damage.2. Berserker BlitzPower Description: Drawing from his military training, Red Hulk enters a state of focused aggression, charging through enemies with unstoppable momentum. This ability allows him to bulldoze through enemies and obstacles, leaving destruction in his wake.In-Game Mechanics: This move is great for breaking enemy lines or escaping overwhelming situations. Players can unlock upgrades to enhance speed, duration, and impact damage, transforming Red Hulk into a raging juggernaut.3. Thermal PunchesPower Description: Red Hulk’s fists begin to glow with intense heat, adding an incendiary effect to his punches. This ability can ignite enemies and even melt through certain obstacles.In-Game Mechanics: When activated, Red Hulk’s basic attacks become heated punches that deal extra damage over time and cause flammable objects to catch fire. Upgrades allow him to maintain this effect longer or increase the

Red Hulk's Powers and Abilities for Red Hulk: SMASH

In Red Hulk: SMASH, players will tap into the intense, destructive powers of Red Hulk, a character defined by his raw strength, adaptability, and relentless rage. Unlike the original Hulk, Red Hulk possesses unique abilities tailored to his specific physiology, background, and tactical approach to combat. Here’s an in-depth look at the powers and abilities players will wield in the game:

Core Abilities:

Superhuman Strength

Power Description: Red Hulk’s strength rivals and often exceeds that of the Hulk, allowing him to lift, throw, or smash anything in his path. His strength scales with his anger, which means he grows even more powerful the longer the fight lasts.

In-Game Mechanics: Players can level up Red Hulk’s strength as they progress, unlocking moves that allow him to throw larger objects (like cars, tanks, and even helicopters) or deliver powerful punches that can create shockwaves.

Thermal Radiation Emission

Power Description: When enraged, Red Hulk begins to emit massive amounts of heat, capable of melting steel or causing combustibles around him to ignite. This heat is a double-edged sword; while it makes him deadly in close combat, it drains his energy and leaves him vulnerable if overused.

In-Game Mechanics: Players can activate Heat Mode in bursts to deal intense damage to enemies within a radius. However, prolonged use causes an overheat effect, where Red Hulk’s health depletes slowly, forcing players to use this ability tactically.

Rage Amplification

Power Description: Unlike Hulk, who becomes stronger with anger but less in control, Red Hulk’s rage amplifies his abilities while maintaining tactical precision. As he fights, his rage meter fills, allowing access to more advanced and devastating abilities.

In-Game Mechanics: The Rage Meter fills as Red Hulk deals or takes damage. Once full, players can activate Rage Mode, giving Red Hulk access to special moves, faster attacks, and temporary invincibility. Rage Mode also makes him immune to stuns, allowing relentless offense.

Unique Abilities:

Seismic Ground Pound

Power Description: Red Hulk slams the ground with incredible force, creating a seismic shockwave that knocks down and damages all enemies within range. This move is especially effective in crowded enemy zones and can demolish obstacles.

In-Game Mechanics: When activated, Red Hulk’s ground pound deals area-of-effect damage, stuns enemies, and causes parts of the environment to crumble. Upgrading this move increases the shockwave’s radius and damage.

Berserker Blitz

Power Description: Drawing from his military training, Red Hulk enters a state of focused aggression, charging through enemies with unstoppable momentum. This ability allows him to bulldoze through enemies and obstacles, leaving destruction in his wake.

In-Game Mechanics: This move is great for breaking enemy lines or escaping overwhelming situations. Players can unlock upgrades to enhance speed, duration, and impact damage, transforming Red Hulk into a raging juggernaut.

Thermal Punches

Power Description: Red Hulk’s fists begin to glow with intense heat, adding an incendiary effect to his punches. This ability can ignite enemies and even melt through certain obstacles.

In-Game Mechanics: When activated, Red Hulk’s basic attacks become heated punches that deal extra damage over time and cause flammable objects to catch fire. Upgrades allow him to maintain this effect longer or increase the

Unstoppable Strength: Unlike many of Gotham’s villains, Red Hulk’s power doesn’t come from cunning or stealth. He’s a one-man army, whose strength amplifies under stress. In Gotham, this makes him both an asset and a liability, as collateral damage follows him wherever he goes.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Gotham’s corruption has brought him into contact with all manner of toxins, chemicals, and weaponized pathogens. Yet, his healing factor allows him to recover from nearly anything, making him an indestructible force that cannot easily be defeated.

Military Mindset: Red Hulk may be a brute, but he’s also a strategist. His time as a general makes him one of the few who can match Batman’s tactical thinking, though he approaches situations with less restraint. He knows how to think ahead, sometimes outmaneuvering Gotham’s villains in ways they do not expect.

Key Storylines & Appearances

"Shadows in Crimson"

Plot: Gotham is hit by a wave of sophisticated military-grade weaponry, and Batman suspects it’s tied to a shadowy government program. Red Hulk is at the center, his loyalty swaying between the feds who created him and the city that has become his prison. Batman and Red Hulk must work together to dismantle a paramilitary faction that aims to take over Gotham.

Key Conflict: Batman’s surgical approach to fighting crime collides with Red Hulk’s philosophy of scorched-earth tactics. They must find a balance or risk tearing Gotham apart in the process.

"Green & Red Dawn"

Plot: Poison Ivy is wreaking havoc across Gotham with a plot that would release a powerful, environmentally-altering spore across the city. Red Hulk, seeing her plan as a direct attack on humanity’s control over nature, goes on the offensive. Batman, meanwhile, believes in finding a way to stop Ivy without unnecessary destruction.

Key Conflict: Red Hulk's brute-force approach to Ivy's plants only serves to escalate her power, leading to a battle in Gotham’s overgrown botanical garden. The storyline emphasizes the contrast between Red Hulk’s disregard for delicate solutions and Batman’s strategic mind.

"Knightfall: Broken Masks"

Plot: The Joker lures Red Hulk into his twisted games, seeing him as the perfect weapon to unleash on Batman. By manipulating Hulk’s anger and moral ambiguity, Joker stages a series of brutal “tests” across the city, each designed to break down Red Hulk’s control and unleash the full extent of his rage.

Key Conflict: Batman races against time to outsmart Joker, who is using Red Hulk as a pawn in his chaotic game. Ultimately, Batman and Red Hulk team up, but only after Red Hulk learns a hard lesson about the cost of unchecked anger.

"War of Shadows"

Plot: Gotham’s underground factions wage war for control, with Red Hulk becoming the ultimate enforcer. When Ra's al Ghul appears, seeking to recruit Red Hulk as a key player in his plot for a "purified" Gotham, the battle lines are drawn between Gotham’s would-be conquerors and those who want to protect it.

Key Conflict: Batman and Red Hulk must confront their opposing ideologies—Batman’s commitment to justice against Red Hulk’s allegiance to the brutal laws of war. Their alliance in this arc would be deeply strained, yet they find themselves needing each other as Ra’s army of assassins overwhelms Gotham.

Visual & Character Design

Appearance: In this noir setting, Red Hulk’s skin takes on a darker, crimson shade, with veins of black and charcoal-like cracks running through. His costume includes rugged, armored military attire reminiscent of Gotham’s aesthetic, blending urban tactical gear with primal elements.

Symbolism: His presence serves as a stark reminder of humanity’s failed attempts to control power and strength, much like Gotham’s own warped sense of justice. He’s a manifestation of raw aggression and resilience—qualities Gotham respects and fears.

Iconography: Red Hulk’s insignia might include military symbols, such as a broken star or a faded insignia of his former rank, rebranded to suit his antihero status.

This iteration of Red Hulk as an antihero with fluctuating allegiances creates an intriguing and gritty dynamic in #enXantingNoir's Gotham. He’s a character both feared and respected, an indomitable force who both allies with and opposes Batman depending on where his moral compass lies. This complex portrayal would allow Jorge Jimenez to illustrate Hulk in dramatic, high-impact scenes, showcasing raw emotion and powerful physicality that fits the dark, intense atmosphere of Gotham.

Certainly, let’s dive into a #enXantingNoir storyline that brings together these complex characters, blending the dark allure of Gotham with powerful new villains and heroes created by Jorge Jimenez. We’ll create a narrative that pushes each character’s limits, as they navigate moral ambiguity, shifting alliances, and the inevitable clash between chaos and order.

Storyline: "Echoes of the Heartstone"

Plot Synopsis: Gotham’s underworld is buzzing with rumors of a powerful artifact known as the Heartstone, a rare gem rumored to possess the ability to manipulate memories, influence emotions, and, in the wrong hands, induce mass hysteria. Legends say it’s connected to Gotham’s ancient foundation—an enchanted relic forged by mysterious forces that existed long before the city was built. Now, a syndicate of villains and antiheroes are racing to claim the Heartstone, each driven by their own desires for power, revenge, or freedom from past traumas.

In the midst of this chaos, Bambi (Bambi Prescott), a mysterious forest-born warrior, arrives in Gotham, following a vision that reveals the Heartstone’s influence spreading like a poison through the city. Bambi has foreseen the havoc it could wreak if left unchecked and is determined to find allies to destroy it or secure it safely.

Main Characters and Their Motivations

Miracle Molly (Seraphine) Alias: Seraphine Role: Tech-savvy visionary with a mission to liberate people from their traumas and societal constraints

Motivation: Miracle Molly views the Heartstone as a potential device for empowerment, a means to erase painful memories and give people a chance to be "reborn." However, she’s torn between her idealistic goals and the dangerous allure of wielding such power. She believes she could harness the Heartstone to build a utopian future—but Gotham has a way of corrupting even the noblest intentions.

Bambi (Bambi Prescott) Alias: The Prince of Thee Forest Kingdom Role: Warrior and environmental guardian with an almost mythical connection to nature

Motivation: Bambi senses the Heartstone’s energy as something unnatural and corrupt, a force that disrupts the natural balance. As an envoy from Thee Forest Kingdom, Bambi sees it as their duty to protect the world from such corrupting influences. Their primary goal is to find allies who will help destroy or neutralize it before it falls into the wrong hands.

Thee Dark Knight (Rebecca Black) Alias: Thee Dark Knight Role: Vigilante determined to protect Gotham's people while facing her own personal darkness

Motivation: Unlike Batman, Thee Dark Knight doesn’t see Gotham as a city of salvation but as a place that needs strict control and protection from itself. When Rebecca learns of the Heartstone, she’s immediately wary, seeing it as a weapon of mass manipulation. She’s conflicted, knowing the Heartstone could purge the worst of Gotham’s villains’ memories—but at a price that could compromise everyone’s free will.

Domino Role: Mercenary and friend of Harley Quinn with uncanny luck on her side

Motivation: Domino sees the Heartstone as an opportunity for personal gain. She’s not driven by moral ambitions like the others; she’s a thrill-seeker, looking for a payday or a valuable artifact to bargain with. Her luck often puts her in the right place at the right time, and she plans to take advantage of her uncanny ability to secure the Heartstone—if only for herself.

Punchline (Kathe Canlas) Alias: KatheCanlas A narrative arc and how each character's goals, personalities, and powers intersect with Gotham’s chaotic environment and the central mystery of the Heartstone. Here’s a breakdown of how we might structure the story, with key themes of betrayal, unlikely alliances, and the ultimate struggle for Gotham's future.

Title: Heartstone of Gotham

Synopsis: In the heart of Gotham City, a mythical artifact known as the Heartstone emerges, rumored to be a relic of unimaginable power. The Heartstone, once a symbol of Gotham’s dark legacy, has resurfaced, and it attracts the attention of powerful individuals, each with their own motivations. This story follows heroes, villains, and ambiguous figures as they converge on Gotham, with their fates intertwining in a battle that could reshape the city’s very foundation.

Prologue

A myth surrounding the Heartstone of Gotham tells of an ancient stone that once served as the city’s lifeblood, granting prosperity to the land. Over time, however, its energy was corrupted by crime, greed, and violence, and it was eventually hidden away. Now, with Gotham in crisis, the Heartstone’s energy surges once more, and its allure attracts forces from all walks of life.

Chapter 1: The Arrival of Aetherium

Aetherium, drawn by whispers of the Heartstone's power, materializes in Gotham’s underbelly. His ethereal form shimmers as he steps out of a dimensional rift, slipping between shadowy streets and rooftops. As a neutral figure, he has no loyalties; his only interest is in harnessing the Heartstone to unlock new realms. Sensing the artifact’s energy pulsing beneath Gotham, he begins his search, attracting the attention of both heroes and villains.

Chapter 2: An Unlikely Hero – Red Raven

Red Raven, a vigilante able to command birds of prey, watches Gotham from above, his birds circling the city’s skyscrapers. His mission is clear: to find the Heartstone and secure it for Gotham’s protection. For him, the artifact is a symbol of the city’s sins, a representation of all the corruption and pain that Gotham has endured. Though a solitary figure, he’s willing to work with others if it ensures Gotham’s safety.

Chapter 3: Nightshade’s Mission

Nightshade, an eco-terrorist with the power to control toxic plants, senses the Heartstone’s influence as a blight upon Gotham’s natural life. To her, the artifact represents the city’s worst pollutants. She believes that by harnessing the Heartstone, she can purify Gotham by eliminating humanity’s “infestation” entirely. She begins her crusade, unleashing toxic flora across parts of the city, drawing the attention of both law enforcement and other heroes.

Chapter 4: Gathering Storms – MiracleMolly and TheeDarkKnight

MiracleMolly (Seraphine) and TheeDarkKnight (Rebecca Black) are close allies and partners in Gotham’s vigilante scene. MiracleMolly, with her unparalleled technological skills, believes that the Heartstone could provide new advancements that might help Gotham’s lower class. She convinces TheeDarkKnight to join her in locating it before it falls into villainous hands. Both know the dangers of its dark allure, but they’re determined to use it for the city’s benefit.

Chapter 5: Domino and Punchline – A Dangerous Duo

Domino, an acrobat and close friend of Harley Quinn, finds herself teamed up with Punchline (Kathe Canlas), who seeks chaos more than control. The pair’s interests align when they hear of the Heartstone’s power. For Domino, it's about thrill and profit, while Punchline is driven by a twisted vision of Gotham’s future, one where only the clever and cruel survive. They agree to collaborate, making a dangerous duo willing to defy any authority, including TheeDarkKnight.

Chapter 6: Crossroads in the Underworld

Aetherium, while moving through Gotham’s underground network, encounters Nightshade, who confronts him for intruding on “her” territory. They clash briefly, Aetherium’s shadowy form slipping between her poisonous vines, but he realizes that an alliance might benefit them both. He proposes that she allow him access to her network in exchange for his help in securing the Heartstone’s location, promising her a means of channeling the artifact’s energy into her eco-purification plan.

Chapter 7: Allies and Tensions

Red Raven observes this strange alliance from a distance, noting that Aetherium’s knowledge could jeopardize the Heartstone’s safety. He chooses to confront MiracleMolly and TheeDarkKnight, hoping that they’ll put their own pursuit aside to aid him in keeping it from those who might use it for destruction. Though wary of Red Raven, the two vigilantes agree, recognizing that Gotham’s stability hangs in the balance. They tentatively ally with him, despite TheeDarkKnight’s suspicion of his elusive motives.

Chapter 8: Domino and Punchline’s Heist

Domino and Punchline, following Aetherium’s leads, attempt to raid a museum holding an ancient map rumored to reveal the Heartstone’s resting place. Their chaotic energy causes havoc, drawing in TheeDarkKnight and MiracleMolly. A rooftop battle ensues, with Punchline taunting TheeDarkKnight about her “heroic delusions” while Domino outmaneuvers MiracleMolly, stealing the map. Red Raven arrives just as the heist ends, but Domino and Punchline narrowly escape.

Chapter 9: Aetherium’s Betrayal

Using his dimensional abilities, Aetherium tracks the Heartstone’s precise location but keeps it hidden from Nightshade. As they grow closer to their goal, he begins to question his alliance with her, realizing that Nightshade’s ambitions could destroy all life in Gotham. Sensing his hesitation, Nightshade confronts him, accusing him of betrayal. In a heated exchange, Aetherium barely escapes her wrath, fleeing into the shadows as she vows to find the Heartstone alone.

Chapter 10: The Final Battle – Heartstone’s Awakening

With all parties converging on the Heartstone’s location, a final battle erupts in an abandoned cathedral deep beneath Gotham. Red Raven, MiracleMolly, TheeDarkKnight, Domino, Punchline, and Nightshade clash in a chaotic melee, each driven by their own motives. Aetherium appears, seeking to seize the artifact for himself, and in a tense standoff, he begins to open a dimensional rift to harness its energy.

Chapter 11: TheeDarkKnight’s Choice

As the rift threatens to destabilize Gotham’s foundations, TheeDarkKnight faces a critical decision: destroy the Heartstone, or let Aetherium use it to unleash untold dimensions into Gotham. She wrestles with her loyalty to her city versus her desire to protect it from within. Ultimately, with MiracleMolly’s help, she decides to shatter the Heartstone, believing that Gotham’s future shouldn’t be bound by its past.

Chapter 12: Aftermath – New Beginnings

As the Heartstone’s energy dissipates, Aetherium disappears into a dimensional void, defeated but not entirely gone. Nightshade, furious at her failure, retreats to the shadows, vowing revenge on Gotham itself. MiracleMolly and Red Raven survey the cathedral’s ruins, understanding the sacrifices made to save the city. Domino and Punchline, undeterred, escape into the night, seeking their next chaotic endeavor.

Epilogue

Gotham remains, as always, on the brink, but for now, the Heartstone’s influence has been nullified. TheeDarkKnight and MiracleMolly pledge to protect Gotham from threats within and beyond, while Red Raven, having tasted the thrill of cooperation, fades back into his solo vigilante life, leaving only shadows and the distant cries of ravens behind.

This outline provides the framework for a complex narrative involving alliances, betrayals, and personal struggles. Each character has a distinct role that leads to high-stakes conflict centered on the Heartstone, with enough twists and turns to build a story that reaches the target word count naturally. From here, we could further expand dialogue, settings, and action scenes to flesh out each chapter into 7,000 words, creating an epic tale that captures Gotham's dark allure.

[RedRaven]

To deepen the storyline featuring MiracleMolly, Bambi, TheeDarkKnight, Domino, Punchline, and new villains/heroes like Nightshade, Red Raven, and Aetherium, I'll incorporate your new visual references and connect character motivations and alliances in a darker Gotham tale centered around the Heartstone artifact.

Act I: The Awakening of the Heartstone

Gotham City has always held secrets beneath its cobblestone streets and towering skyscrapers, but none as potent as the Heartstone. Hidden beneath the city, this ancient artifact pulses with energy that both heroes and villains sense as it begins to awaken. The Heartstone is said to be a relic of unparalleled power, capable of influencing minds, amplifying emotions, and warping reality itself.

Nightshade, the eco-terrorist with control over toxic plants, senses the Heartstone as a dark blight poisoning Gotham’s natural world. She begins her assault on the city, creating deadly plant-infested zones and spreading a message of purging humanity from Gotham to reclaim the land. To her, the Heartstone represents humanity’s sins—its very existence a source of rot within the earth. She vows to possess it, intending to use its powers to return Gotham to nature, no matter the human cost.

In the shadows of the city, Red Raven watches from above, his red-feathered armor blending with the night sky. With his ability to control birds of prey and move seamlessly across Gotham's rooftops, he has earned a reputation as an enigmatic vigilante. Unlike Nightshade, Red Raven sees the Heartstone not as a curse but as a symbol of Gotham’s sins—a way to atone for its past. He wants the Heartstone to protect the future of Gotham and, if necessary, he is willing to make deals with the lesser of evils to secure it. Yet his motives are a mystery, and his alliances seem to shift depending on his own interpretation of justice.

Meanwhile, Aetherium, a shadowy dimensional walker, arrives in Gotham. Drawn to the Heartstone like a moth to a flame, he views it as a key to new realms and sees in it a way to traverse dimensions unfathomable to mere mortals. Aetherium's allegiance is as fluid as his ability to step between dimensions. For him, the Heartstone is not a tool for justice or destruction, but a means to unlock limitless knowledge and power. He is willing to work with heroes or villains if it leads him closer to his prize.

Act II: Convergence of Forces

MiracleMolly, a reformed thief and tech expert, senses the unrest spreading through Gotham. Knowing the Heartstone’s potential for chaos, she contacts Bambi, who has recently returned to the city and taken on a role as a guardian for Gotham’s marginalized. Bambi, understanding the cultural weight and history behind artifacts like the Heartstone, agrees to help MiracleMolly. Together, they seek allies who will defend the artifact without exploiting it.

TheeDarkKnight (Rebecca Black), a dark and relentless vigilante who mirrors Batman’s ideals but with her own ruthless methodology, joins their cause. With her knack for blending into the shadows and striking fear, she brings an edge to their alliance that’s equal parts terrifying and reassuring. Despite her cold exterior, she shares a respect for Gotham’s past and understands the necessity of protecting the Heartstone from those who would abuse its power.

Domino, Harley Quinn’s unpredictable ally, and Punchline, the twisted new partner of Joker, arrive in Gotham under the guise of “helping” to secure the Heartstone. Domino’s luck-based powers and Punchline’s sinister charisma make them formidable opponents, especially when they realize the power contained within the Heartstone. Their loyalty, however, remains in question, as they see opportunities for personal gain.

Aetherium approaches Nightshade, offering his knowledge of the Heartstone in exchange for her cooperation. He manipulates her passion for cleansing the city’s impurities, suggesting that his dimensional abilities could help her spread her plant-based toxins beyond Gotham, to cleanse other cities and create a “paradise.” Nightshade agrees, forming a loose alliance with Aetherium, with the goal of eliminating all life in Gotham that she deems unworthy.

Act III: The Heartstone Hunt Begins

With alliances forged and motivations set, the hunt for the Heartstone begins. Each character’s path weaves through Gotham’s streets, converging in the city’s darkest alleys and abandoned buildings.

A Battle of Shadows: Red Raven and TheeDarkKnight confront Nightshade in the Botanical Gardens, which has been transformed into a twisted sanctuary of poisonous vines and sentient plant life. Red Raven’s control over birds clashes with Nightshade’s lethal plants, while TheeDarkKnight provides support from the shadows, using her gadgets to shield against toxic spores. They are almost overwhelmed, but Red Raven's precise strikes weaken Nightshade, forcing her to retreat.

Technology Meets Sorcery: MiracleMolly and Bambi, armed with technology and ancient lore, manage to decipher part of the Heartstone’s mysteries. They create a temporary shield to protect against the Heartstone's seductive energy, making it safer to transport. However, their efforts are interrupted by Domino and Punchline, who attempt to sabotage them, seeing their cooperation as a threat. The clash is both physical and psychological, as Punchline taunts MiracleMolly about her past crimes, weakening her resolve. But Bambi’s words about redemption empower MiracleMolly, allowing them to escape with the artifact.

Dimension Walkers: Aetherium’s true nature becomes evident as he confronts Red Raven, who has gained access to the Heartstone. Realizing that Red Raven wants to secure the Heartstone for Gotham’s future, Aetherium manipulates him by promising access to a realm where Gotham’s troubles never existed. Red Raven is momentarily swayed, his loyalty tested as he contemplates what Gotham could be without its history of pain.

Act IV: The Final Confrontation

The major factions gather for a climactic battle at Gotham’s central plaza, where the Heartstone’s energy begins to reach a breaking point. Nightshade arrives with her toxin-filled plants, intending to unleash a final attack on the city. Aetherium watches from the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to seize the Heartstone and slip into another dimension.

Red Raven and Bambi confront Nightshade, determined to stop her before she wipes out Gotham’s population. MiracleMolly and TheeDarkKnight work to defuse the Heartstone, attempting to use a device to channel its power safely out of Gotham. Domino and Punchline, caught in the chaos, switch sides, realizing that the destruction of Gotham will prevent them from ever achieving the chaos and mischief they crave.

In a final act of desperation, Aetherium reveals his true plan: he intends to use the Heartstone to collapse all dimensions into one, creating a new reality under his control. Red Raven, seeing through Aetherium's deception, turns on him, his loyalty to Gotham finally solidified. The heroes and antiheroes rally together in an uneasy truce, each putting aside personal vendettas to prevent Aetherium's apocalyptic vision.

Act V: Redemption and Sacrifice

As the Heartstone reaches critical mass, Bambi realizes that only a pure heart can contain its energy without corruption. With a heavy heart, they volunteer, channeling the artifact’s power into themselves, effectively neutralizing it but at a great personal cost. The energy transforms Bambi, connecting them with Gotham itself, becoming a guardian spirit bound to the city’s history and future.

The Heartstone, now dormant, is buried deep beneath Gotham, watched over by MiracleMolly and TheeDarkKnight, who vow to protect it from future threats. Nightshade, defeated and realizing her vision for Gotham is unattainable, retreats into the wilderness, vowing to return when humanity least expects it. Aetherium, left without the Heartstone’s power, fades into the shadows, swearing vengeance on those who thwarted his plan.

The Heartstone saga ends with Gotham safe, but its defenders are forever changed. Each character’s journey through betrayal, redemption, and sacrifice highlights the fragile alliances that protect the city, even as new threats loom on the horizon.

To start constructing the concept for #RedHulk: SMASH on PlayStation 7, here’s a preliminary breakdown for the gameplay, story, mechanics, and visual elements that could bring the Red Hulk experience to life:

Story Concept:

In #RedHulk: SMASH, players assume the role of Thunderbolt Ross as Red Hulk, navigating a world teetering on the edge of chaos. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape where traditional heroes have been either eliminated or are in hiding. A dangerous faction of anti-superhero extremists, armed with advanced tech, have taken control of major cities. Red Hulk, with his raw power and relentless nature, stands as one of the last lines of defense against a complete power shift that could spell the end for mutants, heroes, and enhanced beings.

The narrative follows Red Hulk as he grapples with inner demons and rage, facing moral dilemmas about being both hero and monster. Alongside missions of intense combat and environmental destruction, Red Hulk encounters characters who question his motives, including other Hulk variants, survivors from previous Avengers rosters, and unexpected allies who see his raw power as their only chance.

Gameplay Mechanics:

Smash and Destruction-Based Combat:

Rage Meter: As Red Hulk takes or deals damage, his Rage Meter fills up, unlocking increasingly devastating moves. The higher the Rage Meter, the less control Red Hulk has, introducing a risk of uncontrollable outbursts.

Environmental Destruction: Players can destroy nearly every part of the environment. Buildings, vehicles, and urban landscapes are fully interactive, allowing Red Hulk to use debris and environmental objects as weapons.

Combat Combos and Finisher Moves: A range of brutal combos that evolve as players unlock new abilities or upgrades.

Traversal and Exploration:

Hulk Jumps and Wall Climbing: Red Hulk can leap great distances, climb up skyscrapers, and scale walls.

Smash Down Move: Allows Red Hulk to leap into the sky and come crashing down with a seismic wave, creating large shockwaves.

Super Speed: Incorporates Red Hulk’s swift movement to evade or charge into combat.

Character Customization and Upgrades:

Skill Tree: Players can upgrade Red Hulk’s strength, durability, Rage resistance, and combat techniques.

Appearance Mods: Unlock various cosmetic upgrades, like different Red Hulk outfits inspired by the comics, or experimental armors built to contain his power.

Weapons and Gadgets: Red Hulk occasionally utilizes military gear, allowing for ranged attacks or more tactical gameplay.

Allies and Enemies:

Cameos from Marvel Characters: Heroes like She-Hulk or villains like Abomination could show up as either allies, bosses, or opponents.

Unique Enemy Classes: From advanced tech soldiers with specialized gear to mutant-hunters designed to contain super-powered beings, enemies will challenge Red Hulk’s resilience and require different strategies.

Game Modes:

Story Mode: A full campaign that explores Red Hulk’s role in this dystopian world.

Arena Mode: Players can enter gladiator-style arenas and face off against waves of enemies to test Red Hulk’s limits.

Destruction Challenges: Time-limited challenges focused on causing maximum destruction within urban settings.

Interactive Environment and Dynamic Weather System:

Weather and Terrain Impact: From thunderstorms to earthquakes, the weather and terrain affect Red Hulk’s abilities and combat approach.

Day/Night Cycle: The game shifts from day to night, creating different atmospheres and enemy types that appear based on the time of day.

Visual and Audio Design:

Visual Aesthetic: Dark, gritty, with high-detail textures that make Red Hulk’s skin and muscle fibers look incredibly lifelike. Emphasis on destruction physics to make every smash satisfying.

Soundtrack: A mix of heavy, powerful orchestral tones with metal and electronic elements to match the intensity of Red Hulk’s nature.

Voice Acting: Red Hulk's voice should be gruff and filled with anger, contrasting with moments of somber introspection.

Potential Boss Battles:

Iron Patriot Faction Leader: A military-driven character with an anti-hero philosophy, using advanced Iron Man-like armor.

Mutant Sentinel: A massive robot created to hunt down super-powered individuals, using Red Hulk’s own abilities against him.

Doctor Doom (or equivalent): A strategic and power-hungry villain who manipulates Red Hulk into doing his bidding, ultimately becoming a formidable opponent.

This structure would give #RedHulk: SMASH an intense and gritty feel, placing players in the role of a raw, unrestrained powerhouse navigating moral gray areas while protecting a world that fears and rejects him. Let me know if you'd like to expand on any of these aspects, develop specific story arcs, or brainstorm further gameplay scenarios!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Katherine Stewart at TNR (08.10.2023):

Earlier this year, nearly 1,000 supporters of “National Conservatism” gathered at the semicircular auditorium of the Emmanuel Centre, an elegant London meeting hall a couple of blocks south of Westminster Abbey, to hear from a range of scholars, commentators, politicians, and public servants. NatCon conferences, as they are often called, have been held in Italy, Belgium, and Florida and are broadly associated with what is increasingly called the “New Right.” In London, speakers denounced “woke politics,” blamed immigration for the rising cost of housing, and said modern ills could be solved with more religion and more (nonimmigrant) babies. The break room was lined with booths from organizations such as the Viktor Orbán–affiliated Danube Institute, the U.K.-based conservative think tank the Bow Group, the Heritage Foundation, and the legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, which is headquartered in Arizona but has expanded to include offices in nearly a half-dozen European cities. When I attended NatCon London in May, I heard a number of American accents in the crowd, and I was not surprised to see Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration and a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank, on the lineup. These days, Anton and other key representatives of the Claremont Institute seem to be everywhere: onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC); at the epicenter of Ron DeSantis’s “war on woke”; and on speed-dial with GOP allies including Josh Hawley, J.D. Vance, and Donald Trump.

Most of us are familiar with the theocrats of the religious right and the anti-government extremists, groups that overlap a bit but remain distinct. The Claremont Institute folks aren’t quite either of those things, and yet they’re both and more. In embodying a kind of nihilistic yearning to destroy modernity, they have become an indispensable part of right-wing America’s evolution toward authoritarianism. Extremism of the right-wing variety has always figured on the sidelines of American culture, and it has enjoyed a renaissance with the rise of social media. But Claremont represents something new in modern American politics: a group of people, not internet conspiracy freaks but credentialed and influential leaders, who are openly contemptuous of democracy. And they stand a reasonable chance of being seated at the highest levels of government—at the right hand of a President Trump or a President DeSantis, for example.

[...]

Founded in 1979 in the city of Claremont, California (but not associated in an official way with any of the five colleges there), the Claremont Institute provided enthusiastic support for Donald Trump in 2016. Individuals associated with Claremont now fund and help run the National Conservativism gatherings; Claremont Institute chairman and funder Thomas D. Klingenstein also funds the Edmund Burke Foundation, which has held those National Conservatism conferences across the globe. Claremont is deeply involved in DeSantis’s effort to remake Florida’s state universities in the model of Hillsdale College—a private, right-wing, conservative Christian academy in Michigan whose president, Larry Arnn, happens to be one of the institute’s founders and former presidents. Claremont honored DeSantis at an annual gala with its 2021 “Statesmanship Award,” and the governor returned the favor by organizing a discussion with a “brain trust” that included figures associated with the Claremont Institute. If either Trump or DeSantis becomes president in 2024, Claremont and its associates are likely to be integral to the “brain trust” of the new administration. Indeed, some of them are certain to become appointees in the administrative state that they wish (or so they say) to destroy.

The Claremont Institute in the Trump era has become a clearinghouse for far-right and fascistic ideas.  

[doctrinxire]

[ she/her, cis woman ] greetings to all of our listeners! we start today’s potterwatch with a long-awaited update on athena selwyn ii who was finally spotted alive just last night, wandering the streets of london. for those of you who haven’t tuned in before, they are a 27 year old pureblood (unregistered borzoi animagus) witch who is oddly reminiscent of a nape draped in blood stained pearls; self-made prisons of fading tombs and ink stained parchment; a revolving door of ideas, haunting every crevice of a shattering mind; the desolation that's born from a childhood brimming with competitive obedience; the slow ticking of a clock, counting down to an inevitable descent into madness, which makes sense considering their driven, calculative, dignified, reticent, vindictive, and withdrawn nature. you might know of them as the biological child of thaddeus selwyn iii and diana carrrow, and we’re sure that their family will be relieved to hear they’re safe and sound — or at least as much as you can be, in times like this. to all our listeners, if you catch a glimpse of someone who looks a bit like that muggle emma dumont, that’s them. before approaching, please be aware that they’re rumored to be affiliated with the death eaters, so best proceed with caution. these are dangerous times we’re living in. well, thanks for tuning in, folks. we’ll play ourselves out with how villains are made by madalen duke. [ kaya, 26, she/her, akst ]

P A R A L L E L S

wednesday addams ( the addams family ) , diana cavendish ( little witch academia ) ,  victor frankenstein ( frankenstein ) , the cheshire cat ( alice in wonderland )

T R O P E S

defrosting ice queen , family honor , the ace , in the blood , the mad scientist , kids are cruel , creepy child , even evil has standards , dark is not evil

S U M M A R Y

one of four children born to thaddeus selwyn iii and diana selwyn née carrow, doing anything else besides living up to the selwyn legacy was never going to be an option for her. the selwyn's have always been a member of the sacred twenty-eight, making a name for themselves within the wizarding community that had remained pristine and untouched for centuries. even decades after the famous list had come out, the family has managed to avoid having even the smallest of scandals, always shying away from any potential negative press as they came out with endless magical breakthroughs. while not the biggest powerhouse within the wizarding world, they were still a formidable player, one that expected nothing short of perfection from its members. before voldemort's rise to power, house selwyn had always been known for their unparalleled knowledge of the dark arts and objects with the family serving as a pool of wisdom for as long as anyone could remember. they've maintained a private collection of tombs and scrolls, preserving artifacts that past members have found within their searches of ancient ruins or a quick stroll throughout knockturn alley. while it hadn't been known where the family kept these items, the one thing that was known was that not a drop of taboo magic or literature had ever been found within their dufftown manor despite the numerous raids that were called upon them throughout the centuries. for families that were within their inner circle, it went unsaid that all their knowledge stemmed from more than just stories of the past passing down through generations. unethical experiments, located in an undisclosed location of eilean donan, has kept their information up to date and improving, allowing improved magical discoveries to be unveiled to the world although it was often questioned how these breakthroughs came to be in the first place. a child who had been sculpted in the family's image, her frosty expression is a direct replica of her mother's, diana selwyn, a pureblood heiress who had been in the early stages of her obliviator career at the time of the war breaking. since then she has made a name for herself with her time at the obliviators' outpost and her research expanding on the permanence, or lack of, with memory erasure. a socialite to the bone, she's always been a welcoming hostess, always inviting to those who enter her home, a saccharine smile radiating bright in the hopes of masking the darkness that seems to linger in step with her. whispers now follow her, wondering how someone could possibly feel so comfortable possessing a natural gift for taking memories away, not realizing how she spent her youth practicing on others until harmless gaps in the memories of others became common place whenever one spent a little too much time around her. never satisfied with her own success and always striving for more, thaddeus selwyn iii is left to blame for athena's eternal restlessness. originally working towards a seat within the international confederation of wizards before the wizarding world was reshaped into the image of voldemort, thaddeus wasted no time working up the ranks of the dark lord. starting in the fifth circle like the rest of his family, he made himself indispensable whenever the opportunity arose. like his father before him, there was no hesitance as he traded knowledge for power, bartering with a mad man despite the previous efforts of his ancestors to keep their legacy secret. now a member of the court of serpents, his ambitions know no bounds and athena has inherited that drive much to her own detriment. while power is not what she strives for, her research into the dark arts has seemingly possessed her, keeping her up all day and night as she tests hypothesis after hypothesis. driven by a thirst for knowledge and answers to a never ending list of questions, it's rare to find her doing anything not research related as she spends her past time locked up in her family's laboratory, spending endless hours with nothing more than pepper-up potions and her own thoughts for company.

Q U I C K  S U M M A R Y

house selwyn is full of mad scientists in the making. some are worse than others but primarily they all lack a specific code of moral ethics. athena is admittedly one of the worse when it comes to this and she's so caught up in her research that she's on the path of losing her sanity. she spends days without sleeping, instead throwing herself into her work until it borderline consumes her. unless forced away by the dark lord calling for her or some obligation she's been roped into, she steeps herself in dark magic especially with the dark lord's latest project of transferring magic between two beings.

this has been mentioned in amadeus's intro but one of her cousin's is a squib so the family is high key in a frenzied "all hands on deck" when it comes to researching how to transfer magic from a muggleborn to a squib. athena in particular is passionate for this project since she has spent enough time with orpheus to realize how bright he is when it comes to magic theory and she believes it's a full on tragedy that he lacks the ability to cast. growing up she had idolized his mind and work ethic despite his inability to cast himself and if she has the opportunity to help him succeed, she’ll do everything in her power to make sure it happens.

she has two older siblings, thalassa and thaddeus jr, and they're twins. while both degenerates in their own right, the two of them can't be anymore different. where thalassa is ambitious and inherited her family's drive for knowledge, thad is basically a wizarding chad who wastes away gambling and drinking. he can typically be found in nox during most hours of the day whenever he's not sewing chaos with the rest of the sixth circle vigiles

where thad is useless and can't be trusted to do more than terrorize others, thal's ambition had taken her to heights that made thaddeus sr proud. a member of the third circle, she's a wraith who spends her time spying on the order, originally gathering info to be given to the death eaters. but as of the last few months, something has shifted within her and she's been spending less time at home, more specifically away from her legilimens mother, and more time in the field. unfortunately she's destined to be a traitor and the fallout from that... pour one out for a real one

both athena and her younger sister, aletheia, are members of the fifth circle but their passion for it couldn't be any more different. whereas athena throws herself into her research, aletheia couldn't care less and instead acts more like a research assistant for her various family members than a scientist herself. all she really wants to do with her life is create art and she does, but it's something her parents consider a hobby meant for her spare time and not something to consume most of her time during the day. ( think barbie rapunzel but if rapunzel was actually a mean girl )

grandma clarissa selwyn and thelonius selwyn, father of amadeus, are also members of the fifth circle alongside diana. thaddeus sr used to be in the fifth circle until he was promoted to the first circle, becoming a member of the court of serpents alongside his father, dacian selwyn. thaddeus' eldest sister, callidora vulcanova née selwyn, is actually a member of the fourth circle, bringing esteem to the family where elphias selwyn, the second youngest of the five siblings, could do nothing more than be a warden in the seventh circle. elphias is the original thad jr except he lacks brain cells and so you can't even expect banter out of him.

thaddeus sr had a twin sister, theodora selwyn iii, who ended up dying in 2007 when the order had infiltrated the court of serpents for the magical birth registry of britain. now her ghost haunts the grounds of the selwyn estate and her portraits were forced to deal with athena forever asking her questions and never leaving her ghost alone if she was ever spotted.

in my head thaddeus sr is a combo between tywin lannister and rick from rick & morty and i'll let you imagine what i mean by that

she has a pet kneazle named mortem that she's had since childhood but her heart def lies with her family's pack of gytrash ( the english version, not jk's ) that she's helped raise throughout her life

when she's not being a hermit she’s always playing mental games??? like studying people’s actions and seeing what domino effect one action can cause. def treats life as a game of chess and it shows

she craves knowledge above else and can never have enough of it *alexa play satisfied from hamilton*

right now she's full immersed in transferring magic from one being to another but her true passion project is to study death and figure out a way to preserve a soul in an immortal sense but not like a horcrux. she one day hopes to be able to fiddle with time and has endless ideas and theories that can at times make her sound a lil crazed if she ever chooses to explain her ideas to someone

personality wise athena is pretty reticent and withdrawn, keeping to herself and watching from afar. when she does talk to others she typically keeps her cards to herself, never truly giving away her deepest thoughts and opinions unless to give a cutting remark or opening up to the few people she keeps within her own inner circle. she’s pretty vindictive and even the smallest of slights will be remembered, even if it means she doesn’t take action against you until many years later. queen of playing the long game, the consequences of anything that might have happened during her hogwarts years will probably be showing it’s head soon.

those who went to hogwarts will recall that athena, as well as thalassa and thad jr, were members of the dark lord’s protégés. the three of them excelled at the night hunts and the final trials, becoming branded with the dark mark upon their graduations. despite typically remaining within her own company or shadowing the other protégés, around hogwarts she was typically composed when interacting with the rest of the student body and at times might have come off as condescending to others.

H O U S E S E L W Y N L O R E

at the age of fourteen, it is tradition for all selwyn children to go through the process of being illegal animagi. even now with everything going on in present time, athena, her siblings, and her cousins were able to continue this tradition with the exception of her squib cousin, orpheus.

considering their dabbling in the dark arts and the stain it leaves on one's soul, it comes to no surprise that most of the selwyn family are incapable of producing a patronus. however there are a few members who have been known to produce one, including athena's grandmother, clarissa selwyn née jorkins. athena's sister, thalassa vi, has been able to conjure the occasional patronus although this fact remains secret from the rest of her family.

if you ever wanted to go to a wizarding zoo, the selwyn’s are the closet thing you’ll get to one. despite being a secret, their eilean donan location hosts a variety of magical creatures ranging from harmless to dangerous. the only creatures you’ll find on their public manor in dufftown are thestrals, granians, and gytrash.

a family primarily made of slytherins, it wasn’t unheard of for a ravenclaw to pop up in every generation. gryffindors and hufflepuffs were a rarity though, often facing ridicule from within the family and added pressure to exceed expectation as seen with thalassa selwyn iii, a hufflepuff who eventually wrote a book titled flesh eating trees of the world. other notable non-slytherin’s include athena selwyn i, a gryffindor who created the curse that would eventually fall upon marvolo gaunt’s ring.

known for their brilliant minds, most members worked at the ministry. while potioneers and unspeakables were the most common occupations within the family, there were quite a few curse breakers, magizoologists, and dragonologists. however, there were a few who stepped out of the family’s mold, pursuing careers not usually seen within the family. elphias selwyn and thalassa selwyn v were two cousins who went on to be healers for St. Mungo’s, with thalassa discovering treatments for blood malediction and making progress towards a cure. unfortunately, she passed away from her own affliction before finishing her research. even those who married into the family have had the following occupations: unspeakable, potioneer, magizoologist, herbologist, magical theoretician, minister's advisor, obliviator, daily prophet reporter, and wizengamot members.

at hogwarts the family’s accomplishments used to be able to be seen in the trophy room. whether they were a quidditch captain or head prefect, their names and faces had been scattered around the castle. some of the more recent titleholders include slytherin quidditch captain, thaddeus selwyn iii, and head girl, theodora selwyn iii.

the family has a secret laboratory that also doubles as zoo of magical beasts and creatures although some are illegal like their zouwu and wampus. as a child athena had dreams of maybe one day becoming a magizoologist but with how the wizarding world was being reshaped, her dreams ended up going into a different direction. that being said, she isn't a tin man and does have a heart at least when it comes to magical creatures.

even before voldemort took over, the selwyn family had been experimenting on humans for decades so the dark lord's rise made their previously secret endeavors public 

L I N K S

statistics page: here

pinterest: here

spotify: here

[zahri-melitor]

amanda waller v. red robin

idk what the point of contention would be but i WOULD like to see them duke it out

Ooh coming back to this after reading some peak Waller - the BEST I can see is a stalemate. Waller’s probably more ruthless, though Tim during Red Robin is running pretty hard.

Waller’s got more contacts who are simply enmeshed in more powerful positions. She’s not afraid of wielding her own power, while Tim is. At full personality, she’s indomitable.

Tim’s probably got better soft power connections in the hero side of the community, and they can pull in different (but overlapping) pools of assistance, but honestly?

Tim v Waller is going down with advantage Waller. She’s got the ability to call Task Force X/Suicide Squad, Checkmate, the DEO, APES, and I think Stormwatch are also affiliated with the DEO now given Mister Bones is director? Yeah sure Tim can pull in some powerhouses, but Waller’s got the institutions.

If they’re fighting in Gotham Tim probably has a home ground advantage. Outside? Yeah nah.

Waller can stalemate BATMAN. She can certainly stalemate Red Robin.

[deusvervewrites]

Plus ultra x batfam au: Could the ua staff stack up to the justice league, or at least a close second?

No? The Justice League has so many affiliates and even if they didn't it has a whole lot of powerhouses including Superman and Wonder Woman, and All Might is part of both

UA is competent at teaching Heroes, yes, but they aren't an international hero team

[blackcatruse]

Synopsis In the aftermath of the Tokyo Civil War Era, three gangs rose to the top: Kanto Manji, Rokuhara Tandai, and Brahman. These powerhouses have been locked in a stalemate, which only serves as temporary peace. In order to truly control Tokyo, one gang has to obtain all the money, power, and status. You’re a runner for a gang affiliated with Brahman, trying to claw your way out of debt that was never yours. The deals you make turn a significant profit, but your string of luck is starting to fray. When a deal goes south, you have no choice but to work with the infamous Haitani brothers. In exchange, you were promised freedom, but as you work the jobs with them, you begin to realize that the shadows hold something larger at play.

This story features content that may be upsetting to some. Reader discretion is advised. Due to the sensitive nature of the content, minors do NOT interact. Doing so will result in a block. If your age isn't easily found or your blog is blank you will also be blocked. If any of the following do not appeal to you, kindly move along. General Content Warning(s): swearing, physical violence, references to gang activities (drugs, guns, death, etc.), trafficking (human, drug, weapon, etc.), discussions & depictions of suicide, some misogyny, discussions & depictions of abuse (physical, verbal, sexual), discussion of grooming & C/SA (not explicit)

Story Element(s): no timeleaping AU, reader is fem!presenting, use of a nickname (no y/n), 2nd person POV, switching POV, 3rd person POV, loosely follows Three Deities & Bonten timelines, an abundance of OCs & made up gang, slow burn, headcanons for canon characters

chapter i // chapter ii // chapter iii // chapter iv // chapter v // chapter vi // chapter vii // chapter viii // chapter ix //chapter x // chapter xi // chapter xii // chapter xiii // chapter xiv // chapter xv // chapter xvi // chapter xvii // chapter xviii // chapter xix // chapter xx // chapter xxi // chapter xxii // chapter xxiii // more to come...

Check out the series on Ao3!

Last Updated: 7.10.24

a/n: hi! thanks for clicking on this little story of mine. i'm not looking for any sort of critique because this is just fun self indulgence. the story has more will be updated on ao3 first, then i'll try to remember to post to tumblr lol

Please do not reupload, translate, or steal my work! If it isn't here or on my ao3, it's not me!

Dividers courtesy of @/firefly-graphics & @/cafekitsune

[acocktailmoment]

The Last Word !

Ingredients:

Gin (22.5 ml / 0.75 ounce): The base spirit for the Last Word, gin contributes its botanical complexity, offering a canvas for the other ingredients to shine.

Maraschino Liqueur (22.5 ml / 0.75 ounce): Maraschino liqueur adds a subtle sweetness and depth to the cocktail, balancing the herbal and citrus elements.

Green Chartreuse (22.5 ml / 0.75 ounce): The herbal and complex flavors of Green Chartreuse are a defining element of the Last Word, providing a distinctive character to the cocktail.

Fresh Lime Juice (22.5 ml / 0.75 ounce): Freshly squeezed lime juice contributes the essential citrusy brightness that elevates the Last Word’s flavor profile.

Recipe:

Now, let’s embark on the step-by-step process of crafting the perfect Last Word Cocktail, focusing on precise measurements and straightforward techniques:

Step 1: Gather Your Tools and Ingredients:

Before you start mixing, ensure you have the necessary tools: a shaker, a jigger for precise measurements, and a fine strainer. Also, have your gin, Maraschino liqueur, Green Chartreuse, and fresh lime juice ready.

Step 2: Measure and Add Gin:

In a shaker, measure 22.5 ml (0.75 ounce) of your chosen gin. Pour the gin into the shaker, preparing the foundation for the Last Word’s complex flavor profile.

Step 3: Add Maraschino Liqueur:

Measure 22.5 ml (0.75 ounce) of Maraschino liqueur and add it to the shaker. Maraschino liqueur imparts a delicate sweetness and a hint of nuttiness to the cocktail.

Step 4: Introduce Green Chartreuse:

Measure 22.5 ml (0.75 ounce) of Green Chartreuse, the herbal powerhouse of the Last Word. Pour it into the shaker, allowing its unique flavors to mingle with the other ingredients.

Step 5: Squeeze Fresh Lime Juice:

Measure 22.5 ml (0.75 ounce) of fresh lime juice. The acidity of the lime juice provides a vibrant and citrusy balance to the Last Word. Add it to the shaker, completing the quartet of ingredients.

Step 6: Shake Vigorously with Ice:

Add ice to the shaker and shake the mixture vigorously for about 15-20 seconds. The goal is to achieve proper dilution and chilling, ensuring a well-balanced and refreshing cocktail.

Step 7: Fine Strain into a Chilled Glass:

Fine strain the shaken mixture into a chilled coupe or martini glass. This step eliminates ice chips, resulting in a smooth and visually appealing Last Word Cocktail.

Step 8: Garnish (Optional):

Optionally, garnish the Last Word with a twist of lime peel. Express the oils from the twist by giving it a gentle twist over the surface of the cocktail, then drop it into the glass.

Step 9: Enjoy the Complexity !

Courtesy: Drinkies

This article was not sponsored or supported by a third-party. A Cocktail Moment is not affiliated with any individuals or companies depicted here.