#she's the activist out of the two of them which is why she works for Magneto.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

On August 20, a little before dawn, 87 year-old Lidia Martinez was abruptly jarred awake by an unexpected knock on her door. The longtime activist who for over 35 years has worked to expand voter registration among seniors and veterans in south Texas, cautiously peered out the door. Standing on her doorstep were nine police officers dressed in tactical gear and carrying firearms. After showing her a search warrant, Martinez’s home was searched as she was forced to stand outside in her nightgown in her driveway in full view of her neighbors. Martinez was later questioned for three hours after which the police seized her phone, computer, personal calendar and more.

[...]

These bad faith searches orchestrated by Paxton were predicated on the claim that the people being investigated were registering non-citizens to vote—despite zero evidence presented of wrongdoing. Very alarmingly, if Donald Trump and House GOP have their way, these types of raids would be happening nationwide with federal law enforcement under a GOP President.  That is why GOP House Speaker Johnson is now demanding the proposed SAVE Act be included in any deal to provide funding to keep the government open.

To be clear, federal and state law already makes it a crime for non-citizens to vote. But this new federal legislation would establish criminal penalties for registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentation proving U.S. citizenship.  That means that what we are seeing in Texas is coming attractions of what the GOP wants to do nationally.

Keep in mind despite Texas AG Paxton’s two year investigation, no charges  have been filed against any of the people whose homes were searched.  Indeed, there may never be charges because even Paxton’s basis for the search is BS. In his press release announcing the investigation, the Texas AG presents no evidence of wrongdoing. Instead, Paxton makes baseless claims like these organizations have set up voter registration booths outside state agencies where people could register inside. Paxton’s press release literally includes this question with no answer: “Why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside?” But nowhere in his press release does he even allege any criminal conduct—only questions.

And Paxton—a close ally of convicted felon Trump—showed his bad faith earlier in August on a radio show when he peddled lies about non-citizens voting. Paxton declared, “There’s a reason Joe Biden brought people here illegally. I’m convinced that that’s how they’re going to do it this time, they’re going to use the illegal vote. Why were they brought in, why did he bring in 14 million people?” adding, “He brought them here to vote.”   That is nothing more than the type of BS you hear on Fox News. But now Paxton has weaponized government by targeting people registering those he believes will vote for Democrats. The backlash to Paxton’s actions have been swift. LULAC requested that the Department of  Justice investigate Paxton's office for Voting Rights Act violations. LULAC CEO Juan Proaño and the group's national president, Roman Palomares, summed up well what is really going in their letter to the DOJ: "These actions echo a troubling history of voter suppression and intimidation that has long targeted both Black and Latino communities, particularly in states like Texas, where demographic changes have increasingly shifted the political landscape.”

The Texas GOPs voter intimidation tactics are based on the faux outrage campaign against noncitizen voting.

[feminist-space]

Article by Fortesa Latifi:

"Being the child of an influencer, Vanessa tells me, was the equivalent of having a full-time job—and then some. She remembers late nights in which the family recorded and rerecorded videos until her mother considered them perfect and days when creating content for the blog stretched into her homeschooling time. If she expressed her unease, she was told the family needed her. “It was like after this next campaign, maybe we could have more time to relax. And then it would never happen,” she says. She was around 10 years old when she realized her life was different from that of other children. When she went to other kids’ houses, she was surprised by how they lived. “I felt strange that they didn’t have to work on social media or blog posts, or constantly pose for pictures or videos,” she says. “I realized they didn’t have to worry about their family's financial situation or contribute to it.”

Vanessa, who requested anonymity to speak freely about her family dynamics, says she helped create content for huge companies like Huggies and Hasbro when her mom landed endorsement deals. When she reached puberty and began menstruating, her mother had her do sponsored posts for sanitary pads. “It was so mortifying,” she says. “I just felt like I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.”

Being part of an influencer family changed everything about her life, Vanessa says. “Sometimes I didn’t know where the separation was between what was real and what was curated for social media.” And her mother’s online presence indelibly warped their relationship. “Being an influencer kid turned my relationship with my mom into more of an employer-employee relationship than a parent-child one,” she says. “Once you cross the line from being family to being coworkers, you can’t really go back.”

...

Khanbalinov has had zero new offers since he took his kids offline. “When we were showing our kids, brands were rolling in left and right—clothing companies, apps, paper towel companies, food brands. They all wanted us to work with them,” he says. “Once we stopped, we reached out to the brands we had lined up and 99 percent of them dropped out because they wanted kids to showcase their products. And I fought back, like, you guys are a paper towel company—why do you need a kid selling your stuff?”

The law has woefully lagged behind the culture here, but there’s signs that policymakers might finally be catching up. In 2023, in addition to Illinois, three other states—New York, Washington State, and New Jersey—proposed bills to protect influencer kids. Contrast that with the flurry of legislative activity in just the first two months of 2024. Seven more states—Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, California, Arizona, Minnesota—have introduced similar legislation. Some of the bills are going one step further to protect the privacy of the kids featured in this content. In some states, proposed legislation would include a clause that borrows from a European legal doctrine known as the “right to be forgotten”—it would allow someone who was featured in content when they were a child to request that platforms permanently delete those posts. None of the current legislation introduced, however, would outright bar the practice of featuring minors in monetized content.

...

The movement on this issue was glacial for years, but it finally feels like the ice has thawed. Much of that progress is thanks to activists like Cam Barrett (she/they), a 25-year-old creator (@softscorpio) who uses TikTok to talk about her experience of being overshared in their childhood and adolescence. Barrett doesn’t go by her legal name anymore because of the online history it’s tied to. “I love my legal name,” Barrett tells me. “I just don’t love the digital footprint attached to it.” Last year, Barrett testified in front of the Washington State legislature as a proponent of a bill to protect influencer kids. This year, they testified again—this time, in front of the Maryland legislature.

“As a former content kid myself, I know what it’s like to grow up with a digital footprint I never asked for,” Barrett told the Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee in February. “As my mom posted to the world my first-ever menstrual cycle, as she posted to the world the intimate details about me being adopted, her platform grew and I had no say in what was posted.” And yet, Cam says her activism has been healing.

For Cam and other influencer children, getting a paycheck won’t give them back what they lost—a normal childhood unobstructed by the cameras pushed into their faces. But it could be the beginning of some version of restitution. “My friends say I’m fighting for little Cam,” she tells me. “It feels very healing because I didn’t have anyone to fight for me as a kid.”"

Read the full article here: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a60125272/sharenting-parenting-influencer-cost-children/

[lordgrimoire]

The Amity Parkers

Inspired by This Post, which is long, read the many reblogs and tags and comments, it’s fun!

Tim was Ninety Percent Sure that he was going absolutely insane, granted it was a long time coming. Danny Fenton, his Chemistry teacher and Dash Baxter, his Phys Ed teacher? That was two people from the same practically non-existent town in Illinois, but add onto that the fact that even MORE people kept showing up in Gotham from sleepy little Amity Park and proceeded to either A:Thrive or B:Thrive but with the Energy of a Kryptonian having nonstop contact highs.

After his two teachers, or more accuratly before, there had been Jazz Fenton, a new Psychiatrist working in Gotham and making rather noticeable strides in things. Then arrived her brother and Baxter, who had applied roughly at the same time in the aftermath of a Rogue attack on the cities water treatment plant, and the floodgates seemed to less open more fly off the hinges as though breaching charges had been used. 

Now there were MORE people here, there was Tucker Foley, working at Wayne Enterprises as a coder and a damn terrifying one to boot, Sam Manson, an activist who ended up throwing Tim during one of his Red Robin patrols where he’d come across her “Protest Site” which had been a small park in The Narrows. Wes Weston, a cop, had been giving his coworkers and his Chem teacher NOTHING but grief, insisting that Fenton was doing “Something” wrong but never quite being able to get things to stick, upon further digging this had been a long running one sided rivalry. There was also a SECOND Psychiatrist, Paulina Sanchez, at Gotham Academy who was also from Amity Park, and her files were airtight, as Damian’s most recent hacking attempt and Tim’s own follow up had failed to breach her firewalls.

So, here Tim was, staring at Danielle “Dani/Ellie” Masters, Dr. Fenton’s CLONE and the Academies newest but also most feral teacher as she boxed the Joker hard enough for an audible crack to be heard from their classroom from where she was fighting the demented clown on the field. Baxter was still running his class as normal, though a bit further away, and Dr. Fenton was still teaching their class, while Tim was trying to get Extra Credit and vengeance on the Doctor through today’s extra credit task, making a tracker that could track Doctor Fenton for Twenty Four Hours. 

Why was he seeking vengeance you ask? Well given the fact that Jason brought Doctor Fenton to Family Dinner last week [with Alfred’s blessing] and had come in with the most gremlin-esque energy he’d seen from a Non-Rogue. Now don’t get Tim wrong, he likes Doctor Fenton, he may be demented as all get out but he was regularly making counters to drugs and toxins that seemed to just inhabit Gotham. BUT! Doctor Fenton and Jason had been so sickeningly cutes-y with each other at Dinner, like a couple of Birds of Paradise trying to one up each other.

Then of course was the “Story Time” where the two had teamed up to tell embarrassing stories, though Danny held back, a touch. It didn’t absolve him, especially with how he egged on Jason, which very much didn’t help the whole “I know you’re the Bats” situation. AND THEN! There was the fact that a majority of the Amity Parkers KNEW that they were the Bats, It was as though they had gone through this whole song and dance before, which given prior statements of Doctor Fenton having “Hung up the Cape” seemed to imply he used to be a hero in Amity Park, where your average joe could one on one a rank and file leaguer or at least give them a rough time.

The fact that a semester of training from Baxter and Fenton alone had made Tim’s year group capable of facing off with the JL  was a testament to that.

Speaking of which, some Junior Leaguers were coming to Gotham, if only for a place where they were not as “Strange”. Some of those moves may have been encouraged with the recent custody battle between Luthor against Vlad and Danielle Masters regarding Connor, who was a Copyrighted clone as it turns out, which had resulted  in Connor being made a ward of Danielle Masters, who had chewed Superman out HARD along with her Original, Doctor Danny Fenton himself.

Suffice to say, Clark did NOT get majority of Custody, and only got every third weekend, which was terrifying in Tim’s opinion that this small town mayor who was as wealthy as Luthor, had turned up, legally thrashed Luthor, and then given custody over to his daughter, thrashed SUPERMAN with KRYPTONIAN LAWS, and then gone back to Amity Park Illinois to resume his Mayor-ship there. The fact the town was essentially a self governing and self sufficient region  meant that the League was now VERY AWARE of it, and the fact that the League of Assassins had tried and FAILED multiple times to infiltrate the town, with more people going rogue than staying loyal, with only one out of nearly two hundred assassins returning to Nanda Parabat, critically wounded and very much insane.

In Tim’s opinion? Amity Park raised people similar too but far more prepared than Gothamites, for while Gothamites may have the Fight in their bones, Amity Parkers seem ready to back it up with experience, training, and life experience. 

But then again, Mr. Lancer had been an immigrant to Amity Park, and he was the blueprint of sorts for all of his students who had gone into teaching, much the same for how Batman was the Blueprint for all the other Bats.

____________________________________________

Tagging some Folks included in the Masterpost

@plotwholls @welcometosasakiworld @bonebrokebuddy @transsunmoonwizzard @omnicrafts @vala-dreams @fox-sama97 @tired-mom @kyrianclawraith @americano-psycho @mikami1992 @thecatchat @stealingyourbones @mutable-manifestation @britcision @dxrksong @kawaiikenna @mrowsters @the-gay-florist @thatgaydemigodnerd @0satellite0 @afanofmanyships @pencil-for-a-dog @any-mouse

[nothorses]

youre the first person ive seen since biden drop out who seems genuinely positive abt it, everyone else ive seen is being rlly negative or making jokes and it scared me a lot.... can you explain, or link to another post or article, that explains why its good that he dropped out? i keep seeing everyone saying that biden didnt do anything, then that he did so many things, thrn stuff saying kamala is a bad choice to endorse then you sounded so positive abt her and im very confused ): i avoid politics a lot cuz i live w a very protrump dad and its so difficult to find accurate information that isnt seaped in memes and sarcasm and pessimism but you sounded very genuine! thanks for any help <3

I went into more depth over here! I also wanna share a couple of videos I've been getting these perspectives from, because these folks are a lot more educated on the topic than I am.

I first heard the perspective that Biden was woefully unlikely to win from Olayemi Ulurin, in this video. She has a kind of "I can't blame anyone for not voting" perspective that I do think I agree with, largely because she's coming at it with nuance: Biden is not a compelling candidate, he's not likely to win, it makes sense people don't wanna vote for him, and the Democrats need to get their shit together and pick someone else.

She also posted this video (below) that goes way more in-depth into the issue, and which I think reflects (and GREATLY expands and adds to) my personal stance on the "vote blue no matter who" thing: i.e., voting is ultimately about making the fight easier for activists who are working for real change. It's important for that reason, not because the person you vote for can be trusted to do anything helpful of their own volition.

If you're gonna watch any of the videos I link here, watch that one.

The other source I've looked to a lot recently is Some More News, which is where I initially heard a lot more detail on the "Biden should drop out oh god oh please it's our only hope" perspective.

First was their podcast episode immediately following the recent Biden/Trump debate, in which they delve (somewhat casually, but thoroughly) into why Biden's 2024 campaign was so fucking terrifying for everyone who needs a Democrat win:

They also get into more detail on the topic here, in another podcast episode:

Those two videos are great just for understanding this election and why Biden dropping out is very much the best thing that could have happened. That's basically the topic for the full length of both podcast videos (where Olayemi just kind of touches on that specific question, in comparison). If you just want more details on that question and only have the capacity for one of these, you could probably watch either podcast video (I personally have only watched part of the second one, and all of the first one).

I'd also recommend these two channels for political insight in general.

Olayemi is great because she comes at things from an explicitly activist perspective, and she has a huge personal background in very grounded, concrete political activism, especially as a black immigrant woman. She brings in a lot of other experts as well, often themselves marginalized political activists, which is just a fantastic way to be exposed to a really awesome diversity of knowledgeable perspectives without having to look very far on your own. She's also relentlessly hopeful- and grounded in that hope- which is so, so important and refreshing.

Some More News is a good supplementary to Olayemi, imo, just in that they have a good, upbeat (and again, very grounded) energy, and they cover a lot of very current political stuff in an easy-to-digest kind of way. I find both them and Olayemi really fun to watch, but the vibes are definitely different between the two, and they're good counterpoints to each other- plus they tend to cover different stuff, which just helps broaden your awareness of what's going on, again without needing to look super far.

I know this is a lot of information; hopefully I've made it possible to sift through for the piece you actually want to start with, though. If nothing else, I really encourage folks to check out Olayemi and see if any of her videos catch their eye. She's really fantastic, and her stuff scratches my "video to do laundry to" itch while also being, like, a really valuable watch overall.

Best of luck!!

[beyondflashpoint]

Yoooooooo.

I’ve been bitten by the bug, and ye olde nostalgia got me thinking about Danny Phantom again, so I decided to play into that. I recently found the Show’s Pitch Bible, and it got me thinking about how I’d handle the reboot. On top of tweaking Jack and Maddie to make them less bumbling morons and more eccentric geniuses, I’d be aging up the crew, and settling Amity Park in Arkham County up New England way.

Danny, as you can probably tell from his human design, would be somewhat milquetoast, with grungy alternative leanings. Good at science, bad at math. Danny is, at his core, a good kid who loves his family. But he is still a kid.

I’ll probably go into them more as I work on the other characters, but I want to give Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and the Fenton parents more to do, even if it is just in the background. But for now, the Fenton parents definitely have only recently started Fenton Works. It’s been a lifelong dream, and between the two of them they’ve reached a point with their savings that it’s now a possibility. Maddie is a respected physicist, and Jack is… a bit of everything really. Test pilot, super spy, but mostly he’s an engineer. Maddie figures out how a thing works, and Jack can build it. The world of academia was… shocked when the most prominent scientific super couple announced they would be devoting the rest of their lives to pursuing superstitious pseudoscience, and this announcement has called their previous credibility into question, but no one can deny that Dr and Mister Fenton get results, if anyone can prove the existence of the supernatural, it’s the Fentons. Both are haunted by a supernatural experience from their youth.

Tucker Foley would probably have escaped the nerd label by his sheer programming and tech repair skills alone, if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s also a total anime geek, and a self proclaimed furry. Tucker is an unabashed nerd, and not the suave tv friendly type. Cosplays, ttrpg, mmos, comic and action figure collecting, you name it, he does it. Proudly. And he’s been Danny’s best friend since they were in diapers. Inevitably some of that has rubbed off on Danny.

Sam Manson is relatively new in town. She moved in with her grandmother midway through freshman year after things finally came to a head with her super conservative parents. Falling somewhere between socialist and anarchist, classic goth and punk, Sam is a rebel, an activist, and everything your parents warned you about. She’s also the coolest person Danny and Tucker know. Sam has a borderline obsession with the occult, ghosts, demons, witches, you name it, she can’t get enough of it. Which may or may not have something to do with a family secret relating to why certain members of the Manson family have purple eyes?

Jazmine Fenton is Danny’s smarter, prettier older sister. Fascinated by psychology, and obsessed with figuring out the inner workings of the mind. In high school she was a geek. In college she is thriving. Fortunately, Fenton Works is close to the university she’s attending, and that means she’s never far from home, and more importantly never far from her family. Though her relationship with her parents is rocky, she’s been trying to mend fences after getting some perspective on the world. She and Danny were close growing up, and shared everything, so his recent trend of playing everything close to his chest is unnerving for her. She doesn’t understand when she stopped be Danny’s best friend.

That’s alls I gots for now. Maybe I’ll play around with writing a fic, or maybe a comic or something. We’ll see how this all develops.

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 53

Jazz leaves amity for college. She did all the application and stuff via tuckers computer. For some reason nothing was going through on hers.

Due to majority of her extracurricular activists not being sent thought she didn’t get accepted to her top choices. Ended up going to Gotham u.

Things don’t add up. Leaving was a big deal. Like she ended up just going in the middle of night. The roads were closed for “construction”. They were absolutely fine when she ignored the signs and drove.

It took her less then a 6 hours to figure out amity couldn’t be contacted. She tried calling Danny upon getting to Gotham. Nothing. Research, nothing. It’s like the town didn’t exist.

She does have a communicator from tucker. One of the multi dimensional ones. She gets ahold of them just to hear the chaos. There is a hunt for her. Lockdowns. The whole town is shutdown.

She didn’t inform her parents where she was going. They only insisted she goes to the university in town and nowhere else. That could be the issue. She is 18 but they are extra special.

Obviously she’s gonna head back. What else’s is she supposed to do. She had to go get her brother and his friends. Do something. Authorities in amity never cared why would any outside force care. To bad her car suddenly doesn’t work.

Leads to her walking at night. Her goal is to find a rental car place or bus that maybe would be open late.

She doesn’t find a car or anything. But does punch a would be mugger. That punch back home would have not knocked a person back 5 feet into a wall. Were people here just that weak.

This leads to some guy in cosplay called Batman. Which come on that name is just as bad as box ghost. Telling her it’s not safe in Gotham for metas.

Jazz just lectures him on how that not his decision. She is going to be attending college here after she figures out why her home town completely shut down. All when she left for college. Besides she’s not whatever a meta is.

Long story short. Batman now has to deal with two not-metas in Gotham. Plus a whole town that didn’t exist. Multiple arrest. Then a possibility of pissing off the afterlife.

[matan4il]

I'm so disappointed in Susan Sarandon right now. How about never ever have a sentence in any context that includes "Jews getting a taste of".

Especially as a woman. Like how do all these women just dismiss the rape of moms. Murdering of children. Putting babies in ovens!!! Ignoring the hostages living in Hell right now. Just I need a sign of humanity right now.

What they did October 7th wasn't warfare. It wasn't against a military. It was barbaric, animal style torture. Anyone not talking about what they did that day is just a soulless monster to me.

Hi Nonnie!

I couldn't agree more. Her antisemitism really jumped out of her there, didn't it? If your response to the Jews of your country being persecuted and scared is, "Good!" I don't care what excuses you use, you're just an antisemite.

Also, saying that "Jews are getting a taste of what Muslims are in this country," like Jews had it coming, only makes sense if you're saying that Jews are somehow responsible for islamophobia in the US? Which is literally the opposite of the truth. An islamophobia Index study found Jews were the least prejudiced in the US against Muslims. But even if it were true, do two wrongs make a right? The very idea that she's using American Islamophobia to justify American antisemitism is also evidence of her just being an antisemite.

But there were many headlines saying she was fired for being pro-Palestinian. Here's a few examples:

Even many of the headlines who didn't call her comment "pro-Palestinian," stated that she was dumped by her agency for comments "at a pro-Palestinian rally" instead of just saying she was dropped for making antisemitic remarks.

It demonstrates exactly how this new antisemitism works. She can say anything antisemitic, no matter how morally wrong, no matter how factually inaccurate, and it just gets cloaked as being "pro-Palestinian." Will American Jews being scared in the US free a single Palestinian in Gaza? No. Did Sarandon speak for Palestinian protesters a few months ago, when they were being killed by Hamas? Also no. Because she doesn't really care about them, they're just a tool for her to be gleeful over Jews being persecuted.

I'm not even gonna talk about her circulating false information about the Jewish state (that Israeli soldiers are the ones responsible for killing Israeli civilians, not Hamas), and that to do so, she retweeted a right wing, white supremacist antisemite. Sarandon, supposedly a human rights, far left activist, amplified the voice of a right wing, white supremacist antisemite. There really is no end to what antisemites are willing to do, or what they think they can get away with under the guise of "just" being anti-Israel, not antisemitic.

I'm glad she got her comeuppance, I'm glad her talent agency dropped her. Not that her acting career has been relevant for decades. She had two iconic roles, which is two more than many actors, but I was looking at her acting credits, and the last time she had an acting role that really made waves at the time is a 1999 movie. And maybe that also explains why she's suddenly so vocally anti-Israeli since 2021, because that's the only way she's made headlines in recent years. IDK to what a degree this also plays a role, but I do think people like Sarandon and Roger Waters are, at least in part, also feeding their own ego, when suddenly their anti-Israel (and antisemitic) comments get them attention, and from certain factions, even praise.

That's a long winded way to say, I totally agree with you. About Sarandon, and about anyone dismissing, ignoring, and especially justifying Oct 7. It was barbaric on levels that are hard to comprehend. I think it's especially telling when hearing forensic examiners, first responders and morgue workers saying that Oct 7 was like none of the other horrors they had witnessed over decades of gruesome work.

I hope you're doing good, lovely, despite how infuriating all of this is. Sending you hugs! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

Insurgency: Serpent Killer

Summary: A totalitarian regime reigns over a South American country in which the virus is being distributed to its citizens at the pretense of a “cure.” Leon was sent to retrieve a sample of the virus mutation when he stumbled upon a group of anti-government activists whose main goal is to overthrow their government. Will Leon help the cause or will he fall down with the government as well?

Warning: Mentions of mature themes. Read at your own discretion. Slow burn. Age gap (Leon is 38 and reader is 21+). Reader is female.

Word count: 1,598

A/N: this one’s short but pls bear with me it’s for the plot.

[part one][part two][part three][part four][part five][part six][part seven][part eight][bonus]

“I am constantly trying to communicate something incommunicable, to explain something inexplicable, to tell about something i only feel in my bones and which can only be experienced in those bones," - Franzs Kafka, Letters to Milena

The Insurgents went off to their control panel to deliver the message to President Mendez. Everyone could tell how hurt and angry you were. You were out for blood, and you didn't care about anything else other than seeing the president's head off of her body.

"Tonight, we will storm the tower and end things once and for all. I don't want more innocent people dying," you said and then turned to one of the insurgents, "Tell everyone to get ready for battle."

The insurgent nodded and you watched as everyone got to work. Leon could only stand behind you as he watched you become so blood thirsty.

"Y/n..."

"Leon," you turned around to look at him, "We can handle this ourselves. You are still an important factor for us and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Your tone changed. You didn't sound like the girl he kissed back in San Jolonia. But he knew better than to say anything. He nodded and then took a step towards you.

"I need to complete my mission," He spoke quietly as he leaned down to your ear to whisper, "Remember when I said I was a government agent?"

You nodded and waited for him to proceed, "I need to go to a research facility and extract some information, think you can help me?"

You looked at him with furrowed brows before silently nodding, "Fine. You've been helping us, guess it would be fair to help you as well."

Leon nodded, “Thanks,” he mumbled before he walked away from the room. Now that you were alone, you couldn’t help the surging thoughts running rampant in your mind.

More people dying. More blood. More battles. War.

You were angry and you needed to do something now.

-

The insurgents prepared their own artillery- tanks, bombs, guns. Anything they could use for battle was ready. As their new leader, you checked that everything was good to go before finally proceeding with the storm.

This was it.

“Alright people, let’s get a move on!“ the people began to move after your order. The sound of their footsteps echoing through the gates as the tanks and vehicles exited first.

You marched with the Insurgents as Leon wandered off to god knows where. You trusted him and right now what you needed to focus on was the fact that today is going to be day where war will take place. Right in the heart of Pruye.

-

The President received the war declaration and she wasn’t all too happy. She’d thought that after seeing the murders of the innocent civilians, everyone would stop defying her. It only caused the opposite to happen. She quickly turned to her assistant,

“I want you to bring the Membario test subjects. They want a war? I’ll give them one…”

-

Leon went back to San Jolonia. When you brought him there for scouting supplies, he saw a research facility and he knew that’s where he had to go for his mission.

He hadn’t forgotten the real reason he was here. All he needed to do was get the sample and go back to you for battle, it was that simple.

As he walked through the rubble of the ruined city, he was wondering why there weren’t any signs of B.O.Ws yet. He’d thought that he would see one by now but so far he hasn’t. Which was unsettling, by the way. Something felt sinister about today but he couldn’t put any reason behind this feeling. All he could do right now was enter the facility and hope to find a sample of the virus.

-

Bombs and bullets went off as you and your people marched through the gates of the inner city state. The tower had been protected by soldiers and tanks.

Smoke filled the air as the ground shook from all the explosives being exchanged on either side. Soldiers and insurgents dying left and right.

But they didn’t seemed to have noticed you sneak inside the tower, ready to climb up the endless stairs. Right towards the president’s office.

-

The research facility was abandoned but it still had many of its records. It was as if the place was still used. Leon walked around the place and briefly looked over some scattered files, which all contained relatively the same thing. All about Membario and the test subjects.

One paper in specific stood out to him.

Test Subject 119: Subject has responded to commands and has been subdued.

He furrowed his brows as he read the files, more confusion strikes him and he didn’t know what else to expect from all of this. Sure, he knew a war was coming, but what type of experiments happened down here? He only hoped that whatever it was, that it only got scrapped and forgotten.

The further he walked down the facility, the more eerie it got. And that’s because of a green light emitting from a room.

With quiet steps, he slowly approached the room with his gun at the ready. Slowly entering, he made sure to sun his gun at any potential threat. After noticing that nothing came at him, he lowered his weapon and began to look around the room.

In the center of the room, stood a cylindrical tank with green liquid inside. And inside that tank was a mutated humanoid that resembled an all too similar monster- a bio organic weapon.

The hairs of his neck stood up as he felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn’t like anything he fought before. It was more evil and looked almost human. He knew for sure that this must’ve been something related to the government, why else would they keep this hidden?

He needed that sample but he didn’t know how to get it. Instead he just walked away towards one of the computers and hooked up a secret device he hand at the bottom pit of the pockets of his pants. For once he was glad he didn’t have to fight something- or someone- for a sample.

Once Leon hacked the information into his device, he made a swift exit. All while taking a mental note of that humanoid B.O.W.

-

You barged into the president’s office with your gun pointed and aimed in front of you. Gasps were heard all throughout the room.

And there stood President Mendez.

It was overwhelming. You desperately wanted to pull the trigger but you knew better. Instead, you spoke up, “I’ve got you now… if I were you, I’d be careful with my next choice of action.”

The President chuckled as she lifted her hands beside her head, “I was waiting for this moment… I knew one of you would come and try to pull this stunt.”

Her laugh only made you more angry. You gripped the handle of your gun and took a step forward, “Release everyone and I’ll consider letting you live.”

President Mendez stopped laughing and stared at you with amusement, “I don’t think you’re in any position to make threats like that…” her smug smile irritated you. You felt nothing but rage building up inside you.

You pointed your gun at once of the soldiers next to her and shot him right in the head before turning your attention back to the President, “The difference between you and I… is that I do not hesitate,” you seethed through gritted teeth, taking another stop closer.

The President remained silent as she observed you for a good minute, “You won’t win this fight, you know that right?”

Your eyes narrowed at her statement, “Says who? Because so far, we’ve been beating you and your idiots.”

She laughed at you once again before lowering her hands, “Oh c’mon, take a look. I’ve won even before all of this started. I have connections, I have supporters, I have power. And what do you have? Dreams and a toy gun. You’re nothing compared to me and you’re a fool for believing you can even amount to anything near my level.”

Silence overtook the room as you glared at her.

“Let’s be real, shall we? I have the Americans on my side. The weapons that you and your little friends have come from me,” she walked around her desk to stand in front of you.

“Do not forget your place,” she whispered in your ear. With an angered huff, you swung the back of your gun at her face. President Mendez stumbled back and two soldiers ran up behind you. Each solder took your arm and held you in place. “You bitch!” You yelled at her as you thrashed around.

The President held the side of her face where you hit her and with anger she spoke, “Take her with the rest of them. I want her executed by tomorrow.”

The soldiers nodded before they started to drag you away, “YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!” You yelled right before the door closed and the soldiers dragged you down the stairs.

-

The soldiers took you down to their cellars and threw you into a cell with other people. Some were men and women and others were just children. It broke your heart and it only caused your anger to rise.

You are to be executed tomorrow and there was no one who could save you. You were angry but also disappointed.

-

Leon ran back to San Bandero where the Insurgents were fighting soldiers to storm the tower.

He decided to be useful and help kill some soldiers.

Unbeknownst to him that the new Insurgent leader got captured by the president.

[mezmer]

Here I will explain why my blog banner describes me as an anti sugar activist. I try to be as "scientific" as my brain and heart allow, but I value my experience over scientific studies even if they support my view, huge ridiculous autist sugar post incoming

Sugar is highly addictive for most people. The problem is way more dire than we act like it is. Added to foods you wouldn't even think to include sugar. The link between sugar and obesity, endocrine disruption, general inflammation and malaise, disease, diabetes, your teeth rotting out, and even cancer, is undeniable no matter what articles or studies you try to dig up. not many people want to admit how bad it is. People who enjoy sugar, who might say "you only live once! It's not like I'm shooting heroin" suffer weird problems and assume it's something else. Children set up for a lifetime of failure because their parents don't pay attention to their sugar intake at all. I have a very drastic example of this I won't go into much detail about, but a set of parents close to me are feeding their daughter extreme amounts of sugar. She has a learning disability and is a very intense child. I've hinted at the sugar link and everyone is in denial.

I have baby sat this child and gotten her to eat organic wheat bread PB and J with a no sugar added, all fruit jam.. happily told her parents who did not care at all. It was such a feat to me. Everyone knows a picky child. It's worse than you think. This is a gateway drug and I'm totally serious. I said I would not go into great detail... I too was raised on welch's fruit snacks, "pancake syrup", sprite, Kool aid, and worst of all I was allowed to put as much sugar that I wanted into my tea. My parents were wonderful, they just didn't think or know how bad it was to do this

I've struggled with a sugar addiction before and since getting clean from drugs and seen the effects of it firsthand. The most obvious to be seen from the outside that I can make people believe is my struggle with acne. We know bacteria feeds off of sugar. This is why people who drink sugary drinks are at risk for UTIs. If bacteria enters their bladder, sugar makes it grow. Well no amount of washing my face, bentonite clay masks, washing my pillow cases, wearing a bonnet, would make the acne go away. Recently I tried to only eat a certain pint of ice cream thinking less sugar would help. It didn't and I'm over two weeks off of all sugar that isn't naturally occuring in honey and fruit. Crazy how natural sugar does not feed the bacteria and hormonal disruption. I've been in this cycle more than once. Not only does the acne go away, my face appears radiant every time. Breakouts as soon as I relapse. Maybe you are thinking, this is a bunch of hogwash and I eat little cakes often without a problem. That's fine. I know addicts who have used meth for 30 years and you wouldnt wonder much about them. Smokers who lived to 80. Sugar doesn't do me any good at all.

Neither my mom, who was just put on a medication with awful side effects because she is developing diabetes. Her doctor (doctor she's had for decades who is a total piece of garbage and prescribes dangerous cocktails of conflicting medications !! That's a whole other post!!!! Put my grandma on pills which nearly killed her! Plus other people HAHAHA) saw her coming up with high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol without thinking to suggest a diet change first. My mom is overweight and likes to eat sweets. My mom told me, I can still eat sweets, I just have to eat less. I did tell her that didn't work for me. I quit because I don't want to end up sick this way. Diabetes runs in our family. The prescription is making my mom nauseous and dizzy. Insane to me right?

Why aren't the dangers of sugar recognized? Why am I the only advocate I know? I would shut the fuck up if the dangers were believed by more people. Is it Because Sugar Taste good? Not seen as a vice. We accept that corn syrup is not so good. Canola oil pretty bad. Dyes in food causing children to develop ADHD and autism, or whatever. Is there no risk in consuming sugar? Many health professionals don't want to admit it? I feel strongly. I feel sick when I eat sugar but I can't find myself able to stop unless I truly try. We are all convinced that it's just a danger to your teeth if you don't brush enough. MIL is a sugar addict who buys birthday cakes on clearance and clears the whole cake in a few days, a twice daily flosser and brusher, who has lost over half of her teeth to extractions, sees the link, and has no intention to quit.

Finally, I bake yummy dessert recipes excluding half the sugar while using honey, maple syrup, brown sugar for what is left (which is slightly better than white sugar from my understanding) and I have never made a baked good that is ruined by doing this. You can't even tell that I've excluded sugar and the foods have more flavor because sugar doesn't overpower the dish. They don't make your teeth hurt. You can eat more cookies because there is less sugar and they taste better. The texture is the same. Bakers will tell you this isn't true and you need to use the whole amount of sugar so the cookies and cakes arent ruined. Yes, you need torched sugar on creme brulee. Fine.

Do you ever find yourself scraping icing off of a cake? I have baked more than one birthday cake for loved ones excluding sugar and adding natural alternatives (NOT stevia or monkfruit which taste like shit and suck) and ive gotten nothing but compliments. My brown sugar maple cake with cream cheese icing using very little sugar was a hit for my partners birthday that everyone probably ate too much of. This isn't a brag, it's an idea for anyone who bakes to try and change your recipes. It hasn't failed for me. Ok SOrry

[rottenraccoons]

Not sure if this has already been asked yet, but how did the team come up with the four love interests in the first place? I feel like the hardest part of developing a character is figuring out how to start. All four feel so wonderfully complex, and are not very "trope-y," which is what I struggle with the most. Thanks!

Aw, thank you! I love answering stuff like this, so I decided to go through my process on Keir and rambled a bit. I'll put my answer under a readmore for brevity.

For us, we started building Obscura with the idea that we wanted to do something dark and mature, and began with developing a setting. Once we picked and started building out the marketplace under the mountain, we could start asking ourselves "why would anyone go to this place?" and work from there. (Vesper's fractum anima is one answer to this question that we really liked for the MC.)

"Thief" feels like a pretty natural role for a marketplace, and Tobi made it clear that she wanted to develop a very dark character, so I thought a more heroic Robin Hood-type character would be a nice contrast. My original concept of Keir was for a thief who burns for justice in a deeply unjust setting; think shounen-anime hero and you're in the right neighbourhood. Pretty tropey, and I say that with love! Proto-Keir would be a delight to write in a different story.

But the rest of the team didn't think that type of character really suited the dark tone we wanted to work with, and they were right. So we took the trope and twisted it. Yes, he's a good man who burns for justice in an unjust world; and he is extremely burned out. And that twist on the formula unlocked Keir for me and the rest of the team. Burned-out Keir could be exhausted and sarcastic and even cynical about the world, bitter about the state of the marketplace and very protective of Mouse Hole as a place he can improve.

This isn't to say that "burned-out activist Robin Hood" is an original characterisation that's never been done before; TV Tropes has a whole page on the Knight in Sour Armor, which deals with similar characters. But it was the foundation we could build on as a team to make a character that felt strong enough to be a romantic interest.

I've mentioned this before, but one of the inspirations I draw from when I write about the marketplace is the awful Web3/crypto environment, a topic I enjoy reading about mostly for the schadenfreude and ended up learning about as a consequence. For Keir, I use concepts like activist burnout and compassion fatigue, things I learned about much more intimately in 2020 (you can guess why). Taking these real life ideas and bringing them into my writing is my favourite way to add depth and texture to characters and settings. If you're looking to do the same, try looking outside fiction and see what things interest you, then bring them back to your fiction.

Not to say that tropey characters are a bad thing! I could write a whole other essay on the utility of character tropes, especially in the world of romance games. Tropes can be a great place to start constructing characters to ensure that they all have their own appeal, and they're just fun to experience as a reader, especially when it's one of your faves. There's no shame in being a bit tropey, if it suits the story you want to tell!

(And if you're looking for a bit of extra ~secret sauce~: give your characters two things they want super badly, but getting one thing will compromise the other. Safety and love are a classic pair; safety often means staying closed off from other people to avoid being hurt, love requires opening up to others. Then let them struggle with those competing wants.)

[dipstar1489]

Gotham Villains Headcanons

Got a couple of warnings. I won’t go into detail about the triggering topics, but best to get them out of the way now: references to death (specifically murder), mention of abuse, and a reference to cancer.

The Gotham villains are only famous in Gotham, so whenever a tourist questions why a circus clown is the greatest villain, you can bet that Joker would personally go after you and make it clear his a force not to reckon with.

Most of the villains have a bit of a friendly rivalry with the Bat Family. Like, both sides would ABSOLUTELY destroy the other, but if one side would come to battle while obviously severely injured or isn’t in the mindset to fight, the other would call it quits and wait to battle them till side one gets better. Joker used to have this relationship with Batman up till Joker mercilessly damaging the Robins some time before he killed Jason.

Joker can be actually funny and he crimes would be hilarious if not the circumstances.

Riddler and Joker meet at a puzzle competition before they became evil and the Joker won by cheating hence Riddler’s hatred for Joker.

Joker’s first and most consistent crime he commits is identity fraud and even he doesn’t remember his true name. The only thing that’s consistent is that he ran away from home, but the circumstances are always shifting.

Penguin, Riddler and Bane work together. Penguin is the owner of the club, Riddler rigs the games and Bane is the bouncer. Bane is also Penguin and Riddler’s third wheel.

Penguin hates Catwoman because of she’s a cat lady. No other reason.

Penguin will always close his business for a week while he mourns the extinction of a bird.

Penguin would 100% buy Elton John’s bird outfit if given the chance. Riddler poked fun at him for wanting such a ridiculous costume, until Penguin brought out the spandex, to which shut Riddler up quickly.

Penguin has been referred to as Mary Poppins way too many times and he owns it.

Never hurt or insult a bird in front of Penguin or you’ll be his number one target. Doesn’t matter if it’s a rubber duck, he’ll go after you.

Most villains are an activist and will actively defend their cause. Poison Ivy with nature, Harley and Two-Face with abuse survivors, Penguin for birds conservation, Catwoman with animal shelters (cats are just her specialty), Mr. Freeze with ending cancer and global warming, and Riddler with mental health.

Two-Face and Catwoman would occasionally play with kittens together in their free time.

Harley Quinn as bat family’s personal therapist with the family using their hero names. For example, first name Night and last name Wing.

Harley is basically the villains’ therapist as well and overcharges her clients if they personally offend her whether it be murder or killing one of Ivy’s plants. The only person Harley will outright refuse her service to is Joker and that’s because she knows what that asshole can do.

Jason sees Harley and Ivy as aunts if they become allies and he will call them in when Bruce disagrees with him, resulting in a chaotic coparenting system of “Well everyone’s gonna blow out someone’s brains eventually,” “Not when we’re trying to order a chicken sandwich Harley!”

[asharkapologist]

Hhhmmm..... Giulietta please😁✨

Because I love her so much, can you do a headcannon for her?🙂

YESSS! I was hoping someone would ask for Giulietta headcanons because I love her so much as well ahhh

As always, spoilers for Mysteries of the Past!

After the trauma of Crimson Banks, she left Concordia to live with her paternal grandmother (Vittorio mentioned his mother in one case, and I’m headcanoning that she’s still alive because please give Giulietta a break). She returned to Concordia about a year after Lucrezia’s death to visit her grave, which happened to be shortly after Lawson took power, and, well, she knew she had to do something. 

Thanks to the extenuating, unusual, extreme circumstances of Jaubert’s death, she and Enzo were found not guilty when they turned themselves in, given it was self-defense, they turned themselves in, they were trying to save the lives of the political prisoners from a dictator, and they were trying to take down the regime. 

She liked Vinnie and saw him as a bit of a cousin, given how he was close to her family, especially after his father was killed. Her father supported Vinnie, who was young when Vinnie’s father Giovanni died, with the expectation that Vinnie would join his mafia/gang. Giulietta saw Vinnie a lot and the two of them got along well. 

She remained close to Enzo throughout the rest of their lives. (Whether platonically or romantically is up to you.) 

She and Enzo were outspoken activists for the rest of their lives, with them working towards workplace safety, female suffrage, social safety nets for the less fortunate, rights for immigrants, and the elimination of child labor.

She always kept the music box her father gave her, the ring with the photo of Lucrezia in it, the locket she gifted Seamus, and a locket with a picture of Seamus in it with her at all times. 

One of her biggest regrets in her life was how she treated Lucrezia before her death, and how some of her last words to her sister were selfish and unkind. She deeply regretted not being kinder to her sister.

After the dust had settled after Capitol Peak, she apologized to Maddie and the player for pointing her gun at them during In Love and War, considering she’d been feeling awful about doing so for quite some time after that case, but never got a chance to apologize properly to them. They assured her they had forgiven her long ago.

She was never able to wear the yellow dress she wore in Crimson Banks again, as it held too many bad memories regarding the worst day of her life. 

It’s implied that this is already canon, but Giulietta and Seamus met when he was delivering invitations for Mr. Alastor’s parties. (Ironic.)

Speaking of Archie, when he was in police custody before he was released to get sent to Europe, Giulietta overheard her father plotting with his men to kill Archie for what he'd done to Lucrezia and Giulietta. At the time, she had half a mind to join in on such an attack, considering how horrified and disgusted she was by him and how Lucrezia's death was a very fresh wound.

When Giulietta and Seamus had their first proper conversation in the distillery in Blue Blazes, they ended up talking about their recent heartaches--Seamus’ mother being sent back to Ireland in the first case and Lucrezia dying--and when Giulietta started to cry, he gave her a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. It was a bit dirty, but Giulietta thought it was the sweetest gesture. 

Giulietta and Seamus shared several kisses on her balcony when Vittorio wasn’t around. 

She is immensely afraid of sharks. I don’t know why, I just can see that, even though I love sharks. Luckily for her, she died peacefully of old age before Jaws came out.

She lived a relatively long, mostly happy life after the events of the game, because seriously, she deserves it.

Thanks again for requesting her!

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

the thing is - pro prostitution activists (and people who agree with idea) usually never suggest their 'perfect system'. On average, they just scream 'it needs to be legalised and then everything will be great', sometimes you get few ideas on how to protect "sex workers". But you know what? Whenever I do see such discussions and their suggestions, I can easily come up with 3 different scenarios where their rules and laws won't work or just would/can be ignored and women would still be harmed. EVERY TIME. People did and do all kinds of shady stuff, even in highly regulated industries + cool phenomenon called 'corruption'. Do they really think men give a shit about law, especially those who don't see women as human beings (and its all of them)?

The pro 'sex work' discourse is just people using fancy words to state that they don't believe misogyny exists, women are exploited, but most importantly they believe that men's pleasure and need to masturbate (with woman body) are more important than women's feeling and right to be save.

i recently had a very frustrating and saddening exchange with a woman on here who is in prostitution and kept saying the same thing (it should be legal) over and over again and when i told her it is legal in germany and it has not made things better just shifted problems and increased demand she said well but its legal that is definitely better. and you know i myself dont advocate for prostituting oneself to be illegal at all, i think its crazy that 30 % of women incarcerated in the usa where its fully criminalised are prostitutes, but it seems like usual people are only able to grasp the two extremes: full legalisation or full criminalisation. when in reality, abolishing the sex industry is a lengthy and complex process, but you have to start somewhere.

they say, „you wont stop prostitution by criminalising/outlawing it“ but think they can somehow stop the harm of prostitution through legal means, lmao (which also ignores the inherent harm of bought consent compared to freely given consent and knowingly making someone endure sexual acts for money). there has to be a cultural and legal and economic shift and thats a lot. we have to alleviate poverty from women systematically affected by it (single mothers, immigrated women, mentally ill, disabled, addicted women, and so on); this means pulling out the roots of misogyny and we all know this is not in the works. the difference between them and us is, we think a different future is possible if the effort is put in, but they dont. which is so fucking bleak and tells you a lot about how women see their own position in society, and the chances of it getting better.

even if you dont criminalise buying sex, you could still make it more difficult to buy sex. „but then it will move back to the black market“ honey its already there, even here in germany where its legal. so much prostitution is happening invisible, in apartment buildings and deserted areas. we should work towards ways how to reach women in these situations without legalising their abuse. if there was a perfect solution that immediately solved all the issues, we would advocate for it, dont you think? but there is no perfect solution and just accepting men will always use their money to coerce sex is just not something im okay with and we, as a society claiming to want gender equality should be okay with.

why not reverse what we have in germany right now? instead of prostitutes needing to register, its sex buyers who have to register. they need to do regular health checkups. they need to carry their sex buyer id with them or they will get fined. the registry is public because wives, daughters, partners and even your employer should be able to make decisions based on the knowledge that that man is coercing women into sex with his money. most sex buyers are partnered you know. „the government will never do that“ well they sure as hell wont if nobody advocates for it and instead opts for the lazy, superficial „fix“ of legalisation? and also, they say an issue under criminalisation is that prostitutes and other „sex workers“ are hassled by cops. well do tell who will enforce those sacred regulations you want? if it was for them, everybody would just „mind their own business“ and the state does not interfere with the sex industry at all and they somehow think this will protect vulnerable groups?! it doesnt make any fucking sense.

it is really frustrating to me. at the end of the day you have to ask, what is your feminism, if you want to accept, regulate, institutionalise, normalise, legitimise and legalise this form of systemic sexual abuse (because using your money to coerce sexual acts IS abuse of power) at the hands of men instead of working towards a future where we are equal? there is no equality as long as the sex industry exists and profits off and reinforces social inequality, specifically misogyny and racism.

[thevindicativevordan]

Batman: Caped Crusader S1 Review

Normally not a guy I write a whole lot about, but I finished watching S1 last night and decided I would share my thoughts.

Cutting right to the chase I found this mediocre. Trapped in the shadow of it's elder brother it fails at living up to being a spiritual successor, or charting it's own path. Changes made feel like token efforts done simply for changes sake, but with the exception of Harley, frequently feel like downgrades from what BTAS did. Rapid fire thoughts:

Pilot was easily the worst episode even though I was won over on Ricci's Penguin on account of her great performance

Clayface episode was good, no surprise considering Rucka wrote it, and struck me as a preview for what Reeves may have planned for his Batman sequel given the rumors Clayface will appear in that

Dug the Catwoman episode, but it’s hurt by how they basically did Golden Age Catwoman in BTAS. Nothing new here, Selina is a wealthy heiress like in BTAS who has a one sided romantic interest in Batman. Sure her BTAS incarnation was an animal rights activist but the foundation is the same. Given Brubaker's involvement I wish they had gone with her Post Crisis origin of being poor and stealing to survive. Least she loses her money by the end, maybe they’ll go in a different direction with her. Good idea to do the mandatory origin here, least it keeps the clichés all in one episode. I did love the Catmobile!

Firebug was eh, don’t get what the point was in changing him other than to keep in line with the Golden Age aesthetic.

Harley Episode was good! Wasn’t sure how a Jokerless Harley would work but they did actually manage to keep her sympathetic nature, and make her feel like a legit threat. Her victims were scumbag billionaires which made me sympathize with her motives if not her methods. Knew moments before they did it that they were going to homage Harley's "death" in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, having Babs and Harley together was too tempting a target to pass up.

That was Papa Midnite in the Gentleman Ghost episode right? Cool deep cut, people were clamoring for Batman to show up in MAWS but Superman would be a better fit for this show than Batman would be for MAWS honestly. Reusing Fleschier Lois' design for one of the Gotham reporters got a chuckle out of me. Didn’t expect them to go with actual ghosts, that at least is a marked change from BTAS where everything had a “realistic” explanation.

Episode 7 had an… interesting moral. Didn’t expect anyone to make an episode in the year of our Lord 2024 about how the bleeding heart liberal (Babs) who opposes the system is wrong and the principled conservative who sees things in black and white (Gordon) is right. Especially not one with Rucka on the writing team.

Episode 8 was fine, since they included all the Robins except Tim I’m curious if Tim will end up being the one who becomes Robin (if anyone ever does). Otherwise I don’t get why Timm was not able to use Nocturne back during BTAS if this is what he wanted to do with her, she’s an energy vampire like Parasite. No blood. Maybe his old design was too horny for the censors? This Nocturna is clearly Wednesday Adams

Onomatopoeia doesn't work, his gimmick simply doesn't translate well outside of comics

Take on Two-Face here is inferior to BTAS. He’s not as interesting or sympathetic, I feel indifferent to him. They made him corrupt but didn’t do anything interesting with it, frankly it feels like a missed opportunity that they copied the DCAU approach where Harvey was friends with Bruce but never worked with Batman. Because this Harvey was corrupt, the friendship between Bruce and Harvey feels fake (and presumably given how cold this Bruce is, it was). Way to go would’ve been to either flip the reason Harvey gets scarred, and have some relative of an innocent he put away be the one to scar him, or have his corruption be a result of his and Batman’s failure to achieve meaningful results, with Harvey giving into despair before finding his courage again in the worst possible way. For that reason I didn’t find his death to be moving or emotionally impactful at all.

Arkham Asylum actually looking nice was a design choice I approved of. Makes sense that people would be assigned there or that it wouldn’t immediately be written off as an Asylum from Hell.

Why does Timm or whoever keeps pushing for him, love Rupert Thorne? Thorne is a boring bad guy, a generic mobster that Batman should crush with ease.

When it comes to Batman himself I enjoyed his characterization, and the performance of Hamish Linklater.

They leaned into this Batman being a sociopath, his unsettling declaration to Alfred as a child that he was going to make the criminals pay, and ordering Alfred to help him was chilling. Every time Alfred tried to give him advice or protect him, this Batman reacted with either cold dismissal or outright anger. Made for a good difference from both the DCAU, where the two would trade quips and clearly had a warm relationship, and the mainline where it's been outright canonized that Bruce viewed Alfred as his second father.

Too bad it looks like they’re already moving towards a more traditional take on the relationship for S2. Would've enjoyed seeing this Batman remain cold and sociopathic and having to go up against the Joker

Enjoyed seeing how uncomfortable Batman was with talking to other people, he sucked at "comforting" Babs after Harley appeared to die. Even though he has the compassion DCAU Batman had, he's somehow worse at expressing it.

Linklater did a great job differentiating the two personalities vocally. Loved when Bruce was confronting Harvey in Arkham in the finale, and when Harvey slipped into his "Two-Face" voice, Bruce used his "Batman" voice in response. Lot of Conroy in Linklater's performance which is no knock against him.

Since everyone is going to compare the two

Both are similar in a lot of ways: TCC puts a lot of focus on the supporting cast in the GCPD as does MAWS with the Daily Planet.

Lois and Babs basically serve as the deuteragonists of their respective shows.

Both include references to the wider DCU and poach villains from other heroes Rogues Galleries.

Both genderbend a villain and racebend a bunch of other characters.

Both do some dramatic changes to the villains in general, and the villains are generally the weakest part of the shows.

Both even take a lot from the DCAU, although TCC is more indebted to the DCAU than MAWS is.

Of the two though, I think MAWS is far superior. It’s got a stronger take on it’s lead, it’s got a stronger worldbuilding foundation, and the changes it makes feel like they have a purpose that feeds into the story of Krypton whereas TCC changes feels like token efforts to differentiate it from BTAS. Of the two TCC definitely got a bigger budget, especially in the fight scenes, but surprisingly there was some shoddy CGI there like what we see at times in MAWS.

I’m curious to find out which of the two ends up having the bigger impact on their respective characters. My hunch is MAWS will be more influential going forward, particularly on the Daily Planet crew.

Side note but it's ironic how everyone was doomposting about MAWS being a "Lois Lane show" when of the two it's CC who frequently ends up feeling like a GCPD show guest starring Batman. MAWS steadfastly puts Superman at the center of everything, whereas here the Gordons (Babs and Jim) feel more central to the show

Give it a C, it's a fine enough way to kill an afternoon if you're a Batman fan, but with all the Batman content out there I can't recommend it that highly. Next season we’ve got the Joker judging by the post season tease, which is probably going to be a fairly straightforward adaption of The Man Who Laughs given Brubaker is the head writer. If we get a Golden Age “serious” Joker that at least would spice things up. Hearing a Joker with a deep voice startled me I must admit.

[sangyeonsmuse]

BREAK THE WALLS | Kim Hongjoong

Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Full Chapter List

🀥 Government agent Hongjoong x Rebel Oc

🀥 genre | dystopian society, halazia x geurilla concept , enemies to lovers

🀥 word count | 1.4k

🀥 Summary | An organization by the name of Sector 1 was well known for their work in the underground, theyve been well known for the recruiting of teens and using them to form an army since the year 2034. Collecting strays for their rebellion against those in higher power. Now the year is 2064 and the organization still runs strong they run like a family, with the new technology theyve found ways of keeping alive those that have been scorned in any past battles theyve had against the government.

When the government sends in 7 of their best men to infiltrate the organization. What will they do when their cover is blown and their true intentions are revealed? Will they join the rebellion or will they continue to let the government pull their strings like the little puppets they once were?

"You've got some explaining to do." she hadnt noticed when the male she was fighting got up from the ground but in the blink of an eye at the man orders he had encaptured her in his arms and been bringing her out two large metal doors which made her fearful that she wouldnt return.

When the boy finally let go she was sat into a chair across from a large desk, tv screens and control panels filled the wall behind said desk. By the looks of it all tvs seemed to be cctv and at the sight of one particular tv showing the same crack in the tunnel wall in which she entered her eyes widened. She should have known that getting inside wouldnt be that easy, I mean of course they had cameras, they were one of the most talked about underground organizations in the city. Her eyes scanned the room for any possible exits but the only way of getting out was the way in which they had come in, which the guy from before had now stood guard in front of. One of the tall men she had followed to get there stepped into the room before moving to the other side of the desk and throwing down a file folder.

"Tahani Morgan, eighteen years old. Daughter of Thea and Ezariah Morgan. Oldest child out of two younger brothers and a newborn sister. Now I could go on but I'm more than sure you know our capability when it comes to finding out who people are. Now you can tell me why you ended up in my space fighting Jongho or we can end this conversation here and dispose of you properly." he spoke authoritatively, Tahani had honestly thought that when they found out about her they'd kill her on the spot but here she was in front of who she assumed to be the head of the organization about to spill her guts and tell her life story.

"If you know that much about me then you know that my father was an activist, you'll know that he was nearly killed a year ago and it was a government issued strike. You'll know that my mother worked her ass off for this city only for it to chew her up and spit her out like it was nothing. You'll know that we live on the shittiest side of town on the brink of poverty even after years of my mother serving the wretched government and doing everything she'd been told by them. I'm not only here on behalf of my family but I'm tired of the injustices that seem to fall upon my side of the city and all the government does is sit and watch as everything but their precious kingdom turns to shit. I'm here because I want to join the rebellion, I come to you myself willing to give my life for such a cause because our people..my family deserve better." after her words the room went silent, Jongho hadnt spoken a word but he simply nods in respect at her request as he stood guard at the door.

"And what is it that you can offer to this organization that I can't just go out and find on my own?'' the male spoke before taking a seat on the chair behind the desk.

Now that there was a question she was not prepared for she had figured that if she simply volunteered her life it would guarantee them taking her in. It was then that the boy behind her that had been silent all that time spoke up.

"Well she beat me, that's gotta count for something. 2 years in this organization and the only two that have ever been able to defeat me in combat have been you and Wonho. And with Leedo it was always a draw. She may not have much combat skill but she's tough i'll give her that. Train her enough and she could be as good as Chae-rin." When Jongho finally stopped speaking there was a silence that loomed in the air as the man across the table simply sat in thought.

"Six months I'll give you six months to train her before the evaluations. If she fails we get rid of her. I mean it Jongho.'' He then turned to look at Tahani who had finally let out a breath she didnt even know she had been holding in.

"Welcome to Sector 1 Mrs. Morgan. As I said you have six months to prepare yourself for our half year evaluations. Jongho will train with you every day until he feels you're up to par and you both are dismissed, jongho will show you around the archives." it was the last thing he said to her before dismissing the two of them from the office.

"I think Mingyu is fond of you, must have had something to do with the fight." Tahani didn't even know what to say, she hadnt really thought everything through when she first followed the man she now to be Mingyu and the other two down the tunnel, so she shouldnt have been so surprised that they would have killed her if it werent for Jongho.

"Thanks.'' was all she could wrack her brain to say to him to which he returned with a simple smile. Compared to earlier when the two first crossed paths and the aura he emitted as they fought in the arena he emitted a more cheery and cuddly vibe in that moment.

"Don't mention it, we need all the recruits we could get before we're low on time, plus anyone willing to sneak their way in here risking their life just to join an organization that may get them killed anyway is deserving in my book.'' he shrugs his shoulders as he lead her down a dark hallway, upon reaching a large grey corridor there were over 8 different possible routes for them to take. Jongho had shown her everything, or at least all the things that he and the others had access to. They finished up the tour in the exact place in which they had started. the airlock. It was now far quieter than it was when tahani had first arrived there, she assumed that it was because by now it had gotten late so everyone must have gone to get their rest after training so hard. Leading her down the same flight of stairs which they descended down early Jongho approached a group that seemed to be both of their age as well, or at least she thought he was her age from the looks of it.

"Guys meet Tahani she'll be training with us from here on out until the evaluation, that'll decide if she gets to stay or not." Jongho announced to them before taking a seat beside a boy with silky green hair.

"Tahani this is Leedo his name here at hira is moon, Jooheon is Honey , Sooha she boes by Youra, Wonho goes by Won1, Elias known here as Silas, Jiaqi is fox, Seungyoun goes by Woodz and Eris goes by Venus.'' after he went down the line of every person, each of them gave a little wave to the girl.

"You're the one that beat Jongho earlier right?" Wonho spoke up before snickering as he looked over at his friend.

"Yeah it was pretty badass actually, you can definitely hold your own.'' the man she now knew as Jooheon chimes in.

"It was one time guys, doesn't necessarily mean anything, i say we give it time before we decide she's truly capable of being here.'' Sooah, who seemed to be the oldest of the bunch, says in response.

"You just don't like her cause she's new you never like the new recruits." Jongho dismisses her words before looking over at Tahani. "Ignore Sooah, she's always the same when it comes to anyone that isnt one of these guys right here, I'm sure you'll do fine here.'' he pats her back before going back to chatting with the others.

"You do know I'm way older than you, right? You should be calling me noona, not calling me as if we're friends of the same age. I swear sometimes I just wanna fill your mouth with salt.'' sooah rolls her eyes at the boy who was now revealed to be much younger than her, to which he simply just laughs.

"Now where's the fun in that I don't even call Mingyu or Juyeon hyung and you expect to get noona out of me?'' he laughs before ducking to the ground as Sooah sends a shoe flying at his head.

This is what she had to deal with for the next 6 months? Heavy training and a friendship with a group of people that seemed far too cheery and relaxed compared to the jobs she knew they had to complete

[lizardonatoadstool]

Oakie the Acorn is the Best Mascot Ever

I don’t even go to this school I just love them. Here’s an interview they did for SUNY Mascot Madness.

Oakie - SUNY ESF

Who are you, where are you originally from, and where do you do your mascot thing? I'm Oakie Acorn (they/them), proud representative of ESF and its Mighty Oaks athletic teams! I was “born” when I fell out of ESF's Robin Hood Oak which means my roots go back to the Major Oak in England's Sherwood Forest. Maybe that's why I'm so merry! While most of my mascot duties have me in Syracuse, I also pop in at our Ranger School in Wanakena and our satellite campuses in the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands.

What's a unique new thing (building, club, activity, employee, etc.) on your campus that you treasure? The newly renovated Marshall Hall is wonderful! Open since 1933, Marshall underwent a major two-year reno re-opening in 2023. We kept the classic features, such as the spiral staircase and auditorium, while updating the building to a state-of-the-art learning center with spaces tailored to the needs of today's students. The building is home to our Landscape Architecture, Environmental Studies, and mathematics programs. Along with great classroom and studio space, there are plenty of study nooks for students to tuck in and do work between classes or meet with friends.

If you could start your own club or major on campus, what would it be? Wow! Difficult question because ESF has so many unique clubs, activities, and majors already! That said, I'd love to start an a capella group – Oak-apella! I don't speak, but I have a song in my heart and would love to hear ESF students sing. Maybe I could do some interpretive dance while they sing.

What's your hidden talent that you haven't told anyone about yet? Anyone on campus at night might have seen me skateboarding. The other day I landed a kickflip over the gap and was pretty stoked. Sadly, no one was around to see it. Flicks or it didn't happen, right? We do have some talented campus artists who have drawn me and my board though.

What campus cheer gets you pumped up and why? (with great enthusiasm)  O-A-K-I-E!  They're our acorn can't you see?  Sprouting strong through day and night  We've got bark and we've got bite!    ESF Orientation Leaders chant this while they lead our newest acorns to convocation. I love hearing it echo off the campus buildings!

What sport would you play if you were a student-athlete? I would join the Bass Fishing team in a heartbeat! I know when you think “acorn,” you think “land-based,” but I'd love to get out on the water and drop a line or two. There's so much more to me than most people know.    I would look awesome in one of the Bass Fishing team jerseys – provided they could get me an XXXXXL.

Read any good books lately? The Climate Optimists Handbook by environmental activist Anne Therese Gennari is a great read. Her book is about empowering people to get excited about changing the narrative on climate change so we act from courage and excitement to co-create a better world. She totally gets the ESF vibe! She was our commencement speaker last May and inspired our graduates and their guests to Improve Our World!    And of course, Braiding Sweetgrass by our own Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is always close at hand to read again and again!

Favorite pizza topping? Mushrooms. I love to top my pie with things I've foraged in the woods. Remember, you have to be very careful with mushrooms. I always take along a friend who has taken Dr. Alex Weir's mycology course to ensure I don't eat anything that could make me sick or worse!

If you were SUNY Chancellor for a day, what would you do? I would declare every day Earth Day in SUNY and plant pollinator gardens on every campus. I would also help other campuses set and reach their own Zero-Waste goals. Sustainability is a key component to helping the environment. I would then ask to be Chancellor for a couple more days to visit as many campuses as possible and see all the great things SUNY students are doing.  I don't know how Chancellor King does it all! Does he ever sleep?

How would you celebrate being named SUNY Mascot Madness Champion in 2024? The same way I celebrated in 2017 when I won the title – surrounded by the best students, faculty, and staff ever! We had a party that the whole campus attended. My friend, Victor E. Knight from SUNY Geneseo, was gracious enough to come and present me with the trophy and join the festivities. I think it would be great to host Wolfie on campus this year.