#so true damian preach

[nerdishpursuits]

And this is one of the countless reasons I love chatting about Mafin with @midniteowlet: she's my very own toma a Tierra and grounds me, so I can approach things more rationally.

Upon concluding our debate of the current turn of events on the show, Mafin on the whole and their narrative? I've come to look at things as follows. The show very much reflects society as it is: a sad state of affairs where good people hurt and unsavory characters often prevail. The fact that we want everything good and wholesome to triumph at every turn? Idealistic, not realistic. Not to mention lofty expectations actually prevent one from truly appreciating the show, with all its ups and downs and winding roads. And personally, I'd like to keep enjoying it, without getting dragged down the utopian rabbit-hole.

For the most part, the representation we get is actually well crafted: Mafin feels organic, tried and true, and the chemistry between them is undeniable and thrilling. More so? Their story doesn't feel forced and thus, can be promoted to any viewership without it coming across as preachy and condescending, or having an agenda. If anything, Mafin is by far the best developed, healthiest relationship on the show. I, for one, much prefer the portrayal of good communication, heartfelt romance and overcoming obstacles together than a deluge of r-rated scenes. And honestly? We are being offered a damn good story here, even as it fails to satisfy everyone's hopes and demands (which in all honesty, it never could - at the end of the day, someone will always be disappointed)

I'm also reminded of Marta B. mentioning in a recent interview that the show is not aimed exclusively at the sapphic community. As such, it will not depict or cater to its particular needs. It's part of a larger ensemble and needs to appeal to a broad audience. And, when all is said and done, it actually manages to accomplish more with this kind of storytelling: one that's simpler, one that doesn't try to be pedantic. Ergo, they will not linger and preach to the audience. What they will do instead is allow the characters, their circumstances and actions, to speak for themselves. And they will trust they're doing a good enough job to let people draw their own conclusions. So far, I think they've achieved that: there’s heterosexual people watching the novela who love Mafin and think they’re the best couple on the show, there’s elderly people learning to be more open-minded, everyone loves Damian's character development, everyone hates Santiago and acknowledges he is a despicable lowlife etc. The show is moving the pieces along the board quite deftly and it makes for an interesting, if not always gratifying, game.

As for today's episode? There's no doubt that Marta and Fina only have eyes for each other. They're an established couple who will face anything thrown their way as they always have, as one. No mustachioed men will ever change that. Marta and Fina's narrative will never be whether they desperately adore each other. That they do couldn’t be more obvious. Their story? Ever has it been, and will continue to be, about their fight to attain freedom: freedom to live their love in a society that forbids it.

Therefore, I've reached the point where I'm not worried at all about either Santiago or Pelayo. Based on Pelayo's reaction upon learning Marta is a lesbian? I doubt he'll help Santiago in his attempt to sink Marta's ships. To me he comes across as a calculated businessman, but not a heartless one. He stands to profit more from a partnership with the de la Reina family than throwing Marta to the wolves. He also didn't bat an eye at Santiago's reveal, wasn't surprised or outraged. Which, I'll go out on a limb and say, is telling. He's either gay himself or simply plans on advancing his business / political career by securing a partner that won't demand his attention or affection. The first scenario ensures he remains socially upstanding while the second allows him to live as he pleases. To a man like Pelayo? It's a jackpot either way. Hopefully, the benefits outweigh the costs for Marta as well, should the plot move in that direction. And given all the signs? It's already halfway there.

That being said. It remains to be seen what happens to Santiago. I assume, and hope, his little ploy at denouncing Marta to the Civil Guard will cost him, dearly or otherwise. His own thirst for vengeance pushed him to make the wrong move which is, in my opinion, seeking out Pelayo. And while there's plenty of outraged cries that Marta & Fina don't need another man to save them? Let's not forget it's 1958. The likelihood of neither of them attracting a suitor, fake or otherwise unwelcome, is as doubtful as improbable. The fact they managed to successfully evade them so far? Quite the feat.

As for what awaits? Marta won't go to jail, I think, since that card has already been played. Or who knows? We might be surprised. The fear they need to instill in her requires new heights, in order for Marta to reluctantly accept another cage. Mind you, she's still trapped: as much freedom as she currently wields, Marta remains a woman whose very social status entraps her, singling her out as prime real estate. She's the proverbial golden goose, especially as dictated by the mores of society back then. Marta and Fina's shared dream of freedom remains, for now, a dream. One they've almost had at their fingertips, which makes their current circumstances all the more painful. I will say: it stings that Fina won't be the first to read Marta's journal. Undoubtedly, at some point, she will. After all, that journal is a mirror of Marta's very heart. It lays out her deepest fears, her innermost longings. It chronicles the fiercest battles Marta has had to wage with herself, her losses and triumphs, her meditations and hymns, the anguish and the deliverance of her love for Fina. To have it fall into the wrong hands? A violation of the utmost personal, a desecration of what is deemed sacred and untouchable. The diary symbolizes Marta having a safe space to call her own, one where she was allowed to embrace her true self, one that initiated her journey to freedom, her quest to rid herself of her shackles. Santiago has no honorable bone in his body and his hatred towards women, and Marta in particular, drives him to invade and vandalize her privacy, this blessed sanctuary she got to call her own. Let's see if Pelayo rises to the occasion and proves himself as a noble character. You can never have too many allies. Do I still take issue with how certain things are handled, with the inconsistencies and shoddy character work? Definitely. But I’m also able to simply sit back and enjoy. Let's see where all this goeth, shall we? Hello pain, let's go again.

[im-not-buying-it-ether]

I don’t think I could say it in as many words as I’d like but fanon, as annoying and often reductive as it can be for complex characters, is just the harmless fun people on all sides take too seriously.

Obviously an effort should be made to understand what is Fanon and not preach it as canon but the point of it is to be fun or, especially with as much material as comics have, simplify ideas or characters to be palatable to the audience reading them now. I’m certain fanon Dick and Bruce have changed quite a lot with how much their characters have and with how old they are there are a lot of ways to interpret their characters, even if you just stick to certain era’s or consistency of their characterizations you might still end up with reductive or narrow ideas of them.

Plus, canon is so filled with stakes and drama and messy dynamics that a lot of people, me included, just like if a family could get along.

Everytime I write Batfam specifically into a story I do try my best to read up on what their own fans consider their basic or consistent characterization and keep mindful of what is and isn’t true and, at least for me who only in the past year gotten around to more than the Batman animated series, it gets daunting to make sense of all the dynamics, characters, abilities and skill sets, backstories, and making sense of all the smaller details of their lives across multiple comic runs. Then there’s the retcon’s and parts of canon people are divided on who aren’t big fanon enjoyers. And it’s difficult to incorporate everyone who does matter, there’s a litany of complaints that certain family members are forgotten or not mentioned outside small things but there are so many of them in one superhero family that’s it’s hard keeping up to date with all of them so people tend to just stick to the ones they already knew about from the shows or are most popular. Sometimes trying to write an entertaining fic with them just feels like homework.

Just… fanon for all its faults is consistent and gets some basics right to help hook new people, at least for me. I knew about some of the characters from the animated series and then got fanon to help get me further into all this mess. Bruce is either a great or horrible dad in canon takes to one extreme of the spectrum or other, I read up and know that it’s complicated and has gone back and forth between every horrible event he’s been through. I know Dick isn’t the perfectly sunny personality he projects and is nowhere near the caricature made out in fanon, I know Tim isn’t the coffee gremlin he’s joked as, I know Jason isn’t Typical Bad Boy, and I certainly don’t jive with half the racist or reductive fanon churned out for Damian.

But a lot of it is a joke, an extreme to laugh at as the scenario plays out. It’s that people aren’t in on the joke and take them literally when it becomes the problem it is and it’s a large enough problem because Batman and his associates are so popular without having to pick up a single comic to seem to understand them.

Plus, sometimes the fanon is just happier. And I like happy families and happy endings

TLDR; Fanon is for funsies but it gets taken to literally as the big problem with it, people like it bc it can give us easy happy endings and sometimes trying to keep up gets mentally taxing

Please do not take the following question as condescending or judging, but I am merely curious as someone who is highly interested in fandom data and fandom habits. This question comes from analyzing thousands of votes from my Knowledge Checks that are showing a trend....

But... DC Comics/Batfam FANON enjoyers/content creators...

Please select the response that is most close to your situation/feelings.

If you feel overwhelmed or selected HELP! and sincerely want to get into reading comics, please reach out and I can help find you some easy to follow reading guides to get you started on your own time.

[sturchling]

Can you do a fix with Adrien telling marinette that “Lila’s lies aren’t hurting anyone” even thought her friends started to abuse her, but then tells Adrien that he’s ‘Pathetic’. Daminette (Sorry it’s just that I have been reading a lot of Adrien salt) {there’s no rush really}

Marinette was covering her bruises in a rush. She was supposed to be video chatting with her boyfriend Damian in thirty minutes and she was covered in bruises. Her classmates had attacked her after class. Lila had told them that Marinette had attacked her the night before and had the ‘bruises’ to prove it. 

--------------------

The class, except for Adrien, had cornered her after class and beat her up in revenge for their friend. All the while Lila stood at the back of the crowd looking smug. She played the part of the victim well when the class was looking at her, but when they turned back to Marinette, she was back to smirking. They ended the attack by pushing her down the stairs. They left her at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding and bruised. 

------------------

She was now rapidly trying to cover the bruises before the video call. She knew that if Damian saw the bruises he would freak out. Then the video request came through. In her panic to either cover the rest of the bruises or reject the call until she had covered them, she accidently hit the mouse and accepted the call. So Damian saw Marinette’s hastily covered bruises and the few bruises that she hadn’t worked on yet. He knew instantly that these were not from the run of the mill clumsy moment of Marinette’s. He was instantly ready to kill whoever caused those marks on his angel’s face.

--------------------

Eventually, Damian got the full story out of Marinette on what happened. Not just what happened today, but everything that had happened since the liar had arrived in Paris. Damian was ready for blood. He wanted to go kill not just the liar, but the entire class for being idiots. But Marinette stopped him. “Fine, I won’t intervene. But do you have anyone that knows about Lila?” “Yes, Adrien knows but he thinks her lies aren’t hurting anyone and doesn’t want to expose her and risk her being akumatized.” Damian couldn’t believe the stupidity of the people in this class. “He sounds pathetic. Speak with him again. Surely now he would agree that her lies are dangerous. If not, go ahead and expose her without him. I will help with that.”

---------------------

Marinette did just that the next day. She spoke with Adrien and told him exactly what the class had done. “Her lies are really hurting me now. Not just emotionally, her lies are the reason the class attacked me. Please, we need to expose her before they attack me again. Next time they push me down the stairs, I could be hurt much worse. Please Adrien, I need your help.” But Adrien didn’t buy it. He continued to preach the high road method. Marinette wasn’t sure what came over her, but as he continued to lecture her on the high road, she just got Adrien. She channeled her inner Damian and said, “Adrien, you are pathetic. I’ll handle this myself.” Adrien stood in shock while Marinette walked away.

-------------------

Damian was true to his word and helped Marinette deal with the liar. He came in person and showed the class proof of the lies. The liar was exposed, and the class turned on her. Marinette did end up fighting her akuma form again, but she did it with a smile on her face, happy to be rid of the liar and her drama. 

[superhero--imagines]

Batboys during no nut november??

Dick: doesn’t even last the day probably. Maybe makes it to the second day. By no means makes it past November the 4th however. For Dick sex is like communication, and he’s not going to deprive himself of it, especially if he has you. He can have sex without cuming right? Wrong. Very wrong.

Jason: He’s probably just doing it to spite you, that or to outlast Dick/Damian. The second you apologize, or Dick gives in (which obviously isn’t too long). He’s out. So a week at least, maybe two.

Older!Damian: He thinks it’s so f*cking dumb, he doesn’t buy into the shared bonding experience that Dick has been preaching, or the reason Tim says to do it, to be apart of a nationwide movement. He falls prey to Jason’s taunts about self discipline though. He say Damian doesn’t have the discipline to do it, of course the worst robin wouldn’t. Damian’s steaming. If you two haven’t had sex yet, and you’re not ready, he may last the whole month. Certainly longer then Jason and Dick. But the second you look at him with testy eyes and ask him to make love to you, or if you are sexually active, he’s done for the second you put a hand on his thigh. Probably still make it to November 20th though.

Tim: No nut November? Bruh he probably doesn’t even have to try. He’s so tired and sleepy, that he makes it through without a second thought. In fact he probably gets through all the holidays, even possibly making it to Valentine’s Day before he does. A true champion.

[donnajons]

Leave Paris, Move to Gotham Chapter 2

So, this is over due, but it’s here and it’s alive! I couldn't  post all the tags, it was a fully mess. Please tell me what you think about. it

It was too late to change her last name.

 Her landlady registered her under that name, so the bills came under that name. Her boss, Miss Prince, wrote her checks under Marinette A. Wayne, and she got a fake ID under that name and her photo. 

But why the last name Wayne was such a bad thing? 

Well, turns out that the last name was well known in Gotham thanks to an eccentric playboy billionaire, whose company hold the 87 percent of the jobs in the Gothic city. At least twenty people asked her if she was related to Bruce Wayne last week. Even Miss Prince asked her if she was one of Bruce’s children. Apparently, the man had adopted a dozen children with black hair and blue eyes like her. 

Well, she couldn’t change her last name, but she had the option of change her appearance. That was one of the reasons why she changed her hair color to a pastel pink. She kept her bangs just to divided in two and hold them with pins, so she could show her forehead. The pink was a good choice. It made her look like a totally different person. The only thing that didn’t match were her black eyebrows, but she didn’t want to dye them too. 

After paying and say goodbye to Selena, Marinette still had more than a hundred dollars in her pocket, and it was still early, so after a whole internal debate and some encouragement from Tikki, Marinette went to a Hobby Lobby and bought a bag of embroidery thread and some needles. She felt guilty when she gave the money to the cashier and walked home with her knew embroidery set. A strong part of her wanted to go back to the store and return the threads, but Tikki was stronger than that part of her. 

“Remember, Marinette. You deserve to have pretty things and hobbies. You can buy embroidery thread and not feel guilty about it. Think of all the pretty pattern that you can sew in your clothes! Tell me one.”

Marinette smilled. What would she do without Tikki?

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 Marinette was nervous, and this time it wasn’t because of Char Noir, the miraculous, or money. 

The Pink haired girl was about to ask her boss if she could use the sewing machine in the back to fix some of her clothes in her free time. It wasn’t that her clothes were ragged. The thing about her clothes was that they were too plain. She bought them in the discount section of Walmart in the men’s and women's section. Some of them were way too big for her, and others were just… not her style. After she came back from the store and checked the miraculous box, Marinette started to decorate her clothes… well the ones that fit her. That’s why she wanted to ask Miss Prince if she could use the sewing machine, so she could fix her clothes. 

It was lunch time, and Marinette was as ready as she could be.

“M-miss Prince.” Her voice lacked confidence even though her boss was kind to her.

A tall woman with black long hair turned around to see her.

“Oh, Marinette. You change your hairstyle! Pink suits you well!”

The girl shyly moved a piece of hair from her face. “T-thank you, Miss Prince. Miss Prince I-I was wondering if you are okay with it, but of course if you don’t that’s fine. I would totally understand, and I don’t want to bother you…”

For someone that wasn’t a native English speaker, Marinette knew how to bladbling like a pro. 

Miss Prince put a hand on her shoulder and said “Hey, breathe. You can’t ask me what you want if you don’t breathe, breath, Marinette, breath.”

And she did. 

“Good. By the way, your English is getting better. You’re speaking more fluently.” Her boss smiled, “Now, tell me what you need.”

Marinette took a deep breath, “I-I was wondering if you could let me use the sewing machine on the back. I want to fix some clothes that I bought, b-but of course it would be in my lunch break and only if you let me.”

Quickly, Miss Prince smiled to her. “Of course, you can use the sewing machine but not at lunch time. You are a young woman still developing, so take your last hour to fix your clothes.”

Marinette opened her eyes in surprise. “B-but, Miss Prince, we have some clients at 3:00. You told me that you want me to take measurements and star the pattern for their suits. I could fix my clothes tomorrow if you let me.”

Her boss choked her head, “And you will, but you will only take measurements. I have seen your work. You are quick and precise when you take measurements. It would take at most ten minutes per customer. The pattern will take you less time. Now, don’t argue with me and eat something.”

As Marinette walked to the back store, she couldn’t help but be grateful for having a great boss like Miss Prince. She was always comprehensive and kind to her like the time she forgot her money lunch. Miss Prince bought her favorite sandwich and didn’t took it from her paycheck. Oh yes, Miss Diana Prince is an excellent boss by caring about her employees, well employee.

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Bruce Wayne was a patience man… most of the time. 

There were just a few things that could make him lose his cool. One of them was getting gala clothes for his oldest sons. Tim and Damian, his youngest, were easy to dress because they had a style. While Tim liked a more classic suit, Damian preferred a little bit more extravagant style and yet elegant. This was what made easy to dress them: they had a good taste in fashion. His oldests, for the other side, had not taste whatsoever. Dick was too extravagant for his own good (If it wasn’t for his father and Alfred intervention, he would be planning on buying a pink suit with falcon feathers. His next son wasn’t better. Jason’s concept of a suit is a clean letter jacket, jeans, and a bow tie. 

There was only one person who could help this fashion disasters, and that person… wasn’t, Bruce.

Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman, has a boutique with pretty high standards, and by God’s sake, the warrior was the only one that could tame his sons and at the same convince them to use a fucking tuxedo.

“On other news, there has been another victim from the mysterious serial killer, The Jewel Panther, this time on the city of Nice, France. The victim was a nineteen-year-old Japanese girl and was found on a local jewelry store in the same way the other victims of the Jewel Panther. We recommend all young ladies from the age of thirteen to twenty-two that have Asian heritage, fair skin, prominent freckles, black hair, and blue eyes to take precautions in France and neighboring countries…”

Bruce turned off the radio.

It was bad enough that the league didn’t want to take that case, but to hear it repeatedly was just tiring. The league didn’t consider this Jewel Panther to be a menace worthy of them. He was “too normal” for they, but what could be normal about a fucking serial killer that some how ripped off all the organs from the thoracic are of the victims without making an insertion of any kind just too leave their skin flawless.

That wasn’t fucking normal.

Bruce finally arrived at Diana’s boutique where his oldest sons were waiting for him.

“Finally, you are here. Two more minutes and I was going to leave.” Jason, his second oldest, reclaimed the three men got inside of the boutique. “For somebody that preach about responsibility, you’re late.”

“Knowing that you two aren’t a bit punctual, I told you two to be here by two thirty. You will probably arrive at two fifty. We have an appointment at three.”

“You know I would be offended if it wasn’t true.” Dick said as he sat down on one of the chairs. “So does Diana have the suits?”

“No, she is going to take your measurements to make them from scratch.”

“Do we have a saying on the style” Jason asked without hope because he knew that answer would be:

“No.” Unexpectedly, this answer came from Diana Prince, who got inside the room with a small, very small girl.

“As long as I am alive, you two will dress properly… at least just for the gala. For what you two are wearing, I cannot do miracles.” Diana said as she looked like them like if she was judging their appearances (Little note, she was.)

She got an offended hey from the brothers at what she only smiled.

“This is Marinette. She will take your measurements in the changing room. Marinette can you take them there?”

The small girl gave a shy nod “I-if you could follow me.” She said with a thick accent that neither of the brothers could identify came from. Dick and Jason followed the tiny girl.

Once his sons were gone, Bruce asked Diana “Since when do you hire help?”

“Since the business grow up” Diana knew that tone. It was the I-know-that-you-doing tone.

“Not likely, you like to do your clothes by all yourself. The only people that you have ever hired is a few Amazonians, and she has a French accent. Her physique is not anywhere near an Amazonian.” He gave her the look again. “So, what’s her story?”

Diana signed. He wasn’t the best detective just to don’t live it up.

“It’s good that you bring up the topic because I was going to tell you anyway.” She stood up closer to him “Three weeks ago, she came up looking up for work. You should have seen her. She looked so lost and even thinner than she is today. She told me she needed a Summer job, but by Artemins’ sake, she looked like she was starving for weeks. It was obvious that the money was for food and a place to sleep.” She bit her lip. “Her story had holes like how her parents haven’t move from France yet because they were busy or how she couldn’t give me her ID because she lost it in the airplane, but what gave it away was her last name.”

Bruce lift an eyebrow, “Her last name?”

“Her full name, or the name that she gave me, is Marinette A. Wayne.”

Marinette A. Wayne. What are the chances?

Bruce was about to ask when Diana interrupted him.

“I asked her if she is related to you. I mean at the time she had all the Wayne’s characteristics: black hair, and blue eyes. She seemed like one of your children, but she told me that she wasn’t related to you. She didn’t even know who you were until I told her that Bruce Wayne was a rich influence man that basically rules Gotham, which makes it even more weird.”

“There is a lot of people with the last name of Wayne, what would be weird?”

“Because, not offence, but anyone knows that the last name Wayne bring problems in Gotham. Nobody in their right set of minds would move to Gotham having that last name.”

She had a point. The Wayne family had a lot of money and prestige, but they also had an immense number of enemies. Having that last name was dangerous, and more for a teenager without supervision.

“What are your theories about her?” Bruce asked her.

“She is an immigrant, maybe illegal if she didn’t want me to see her ID. Probably from France, her accent gives her away even though she tries to sound Chinese. She is running away from somebody because her parents are not in the picture. She is always alert and ready to hide. I have seen how she shakes and jumps every time something makes a loud noise. She cries in the bathroom sometimes. She is trying to survive, but she can’t do it alone for more effort she tries to put in.”

Marinette had another characteristic of the Wayne family: Psychological trauma.

“You said you were going to tell me eventually, why?”

Diana stopped for a second.

“I’m leaving for France after the gala for two weeks. If the League doesn’t want to do something about the Panther, I will. Those girls didn’t deserve that end, and their sisters don’t deserve to live under all that fear,” For the look on his face, Diana could tell that he was with her on this. “and that’s why I need you to ask you a huge favor.”

She put her hand on his shoulder.

“I need you to keep an eye on her while I’m not here.”

“You want me to babysitter her?” Bruce asked her.

“Not babysitter her, I just make sure that she is fine without letting her know. I will leave Gotham with more peace knowing that you and your sons will keep tabs on her.”

“And what would be the excuse to come to your boutique for three weeks? Another suit?” The trillionaire asked her. He was on board to keep an eye on this girl because somehow this girl reminded him of her other daughters… I said somehow.

“The boutique will be closed, so I’ll give her three weeks in advance and the materials, so she can work from her apartment. I also will talk to her about a mandatory Summer fashion course in Gotham University that will began a week before I go. I understood that your son, Damian, is taking Summer classes there to get ahead. So that would be a good excuse to keep an eye on her. Don’t you think?”

Bruce smirked. Diana was a sneaky woman.

“You planned this pretty well, didn’t you?” 

“I like to be prepared. You better than no one should know it. So, can I count on you?”

Diana offered her hand to him, and Bruce willingly accepted.

“You can go without worrying about her.”

Diana gave him a small smile. “Just please, don’t adopt her before I come back. You have enough children.”

 Bruce was used to this constant running joke about his obsession, as Jason liked to call it, but never tease Bruce Wayne about adopting more children because it would end in him preparing the adoption papers.

“You are very funny.” Diana could swear that she saw a little smile on his face. “Lets go, before my kids start bothering your ward.”

The two of them started walking to the changing room. “I wouldn't be worried about her. Under that shy face, I can see a ferocious warrior. I kinda want to teach her how to fight when I come back.”

“Carefull, you may end up having a daughter” This time she could swear over Athermis that she saw a smile on his face.

Diana just smiled. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”

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Diana was right about her; Marinette was good at taking measurements.

It took her eight minutes to get Dick’s and another eleven to finish with Jason. It could have been eight, but the man was too ticklish and too tall. She had to stand up on two boxes just too get the measurements of the two men.

“Soo, do you like working with Diana?” Dick said trying to break the ice. Noone have something since they arrived to the changing room, well except a few reprimanding words from the little girl with pink hair. 

Marinette finished taking the last measurement from Dick’s waist. She tried not to look at them in their eyes. The less attention she got, the better.

“I-it’s good. Miss P-prince is a kind boss.” She said as she wrote down the measurement on Diana’s notebook

 “How long have you been working with her?”This time it was Jason who asked.

Was this an interrogatory?

“N-not long. Three weeks I think.” 

“That’s good. Does she gives you a discount in the store?” The man with a few white hairs asked again.

“I-I don’t think so. We have never talk about discounts, but she lets me use the sewing machines to fix some oversized clothes and finish the embroidery. She also buys me lunch most of the time and doesn’t take it out of my paycheck. So I guess that’s better than a discount.” She kept her look on the notebook even though she finished writing down on it. 

Dick and Jason shared a look. The way that she said the part about the lunch was, sad and full of gratefulness. Both men look at the girl more carefully. She was thin, at the point that they could see the bones or her hands. Maybe they should avoid that topic.

“You said you put embroidery on your clothes. Are those like the ones that you have on your blouse?” Dick asked pointing at her.

She looked down her clothes. She was wearing an orange blouse with pretty blue patrons on the collar. 

Marinette gave a shy nod.

“Did you used a sewing machine?”

She shocked her head.

“No? Well, I’m impressed. This is a pretty good job. Do you think you can put something like that on my suit for the gala?” 

Marinette’s blood cold down and her heart almost stopped. The idea of disobeyed Miss Diana terrorized her. 

“I-I don’t think that Miss Diana would let me. She already has your suits figured out.” She passed to them the photos of the suit. They looked really formal, elegant, and expensive… and boring for Marinette’s taste. 

“In your opinion, what would you change about the suit. In the hypothetical case that Diana ask you to make some adjustments for the suit.” Dick asked her. 

“I don’t know if I should. I-I may get in a problem.”

“You won’t. That’s the beauty of the first amendment. Tell us your thoughts, Stephanie. It’s not like Rovin Rotten it’s gonna appear.”

Marinette didn’t understood the reference, but somehow it gave her the it gave it the valor to tell what was on her mind.

“I-if was unto me, I wouldn’t change the design of the suits, but rather the materials. Like for example for you uhm…” Marinette pointed at the tallest.

“Jason”

“Yes, Jason, Sorry. I would change the material to a more shining, like the leather jacket that you are wearing, but it’s not actually leather. It’s lighter. And you…”

“Richard, but call me Dick.”

“Right… W-well Dick, I’m t-thinking that you would look good with some metallic blue embroidery pattern on the lapel, and...and the pockets…. But I-I guess the original design is more proper for that kind of gala.“ She could feel how her face redded at the look of the two men.

“You know…” Dick said as he gave her a polite smile… “your ideas are pretty good. Maybe if we tell Diana about it, she could put ‘em on the suit.”

No, what if she gets mad? What if Miss Prince gets so mad at her that she decides to fire her?! How could she keep the miraculous box safe if she didn’t have money to sustain herself?!

“N-no. I-I don’t want to disrespect her. S-she worked so hard in those designs.” 

“Never be afraid to speak your mind if you think that you can improve something” Marinette’s blood cooled again. She quickly stood up and bowed. It was forced habit that she did every time she apologized.

“Hey, Diana. We were just takin’ with your talented girl. She has great ideas.” Jason said.

Diana crossed her arms and gave her a sneaky smile. “Is that so?”

Marinette wanted apologize, but before she could even open her mouth, Dick spoke.

“Yeah, she is talented. Like the ideas she has for our suits. I bet that you heard them?”

The woman nodded. 

“I did, and I think they are really good ideas. You have a lot of future in the fashion field so much that I want to talk to you about a great opportunity to improve your career. We can talk about it after  our guss are gone, which remind me did you finish taking their measurements?”

Marinette couldn't believe this. It was too good to be true. Maybe it was true, and miss Prince wanted to talk to her about something good, but there was also the chance that she wanted to be alone with her, so she could fire her in private and not in front of her clients. 

“Marinette.” She turned at the Diana and the other. Their faces seemed concerned. “You okay?”

She spaced out. She should stop doing that.

“Y-yes, I just got lost in translation. I finished taking their measurements.”

“If we are no longer needed, my sons and I will leave.” Bruce stepped up avoiding to look at the girl to not make her uncomfortable.

“Of course, we will have your suits for the first fit in by Friday.” She and Bruce shaked hands.

Marinette saw his two sons stand up and cme closer to her. Maybe, this was the last time that she would see them again.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie.” He put his hand up waiting for a high five. “Pss, this is the part you high five me back.”

The girl shakingly high fived him.

“Hey, I want a high five too.” Dick put up his hand, and Marinette awkwardly high fived him.

“Dick, Jason we got to go. Alfred is making dinner.”His sons left the room while saying goodbye to Diana. Then Bruce turned to Marinette to shake her hand. “Miss Marinette it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will meet again.”

“L-likewise, Mister…”

“Bruce Wayne, but call me Bruce, Miss Wayne.”

Marinette opened her eyes while open. Bruce Wayne as the Bruce Wayne, and he knew her last name. 

“P-please, c-call me Marinette.” 

The man just smiled and left the room letting Diana and Marinette alone.

So the worst things that could happen today may happened at the end. She may lose her job and get sued by the Bruce Wayne for taking his last name, and lets not forget that she is using a fake ID. Scratch that, she is an immigrant. Marinettes has seen enough news to now that that country is in thin line with immigrants She was in soo many problems.

“Marinette,” The older woman took her purse. “What do you think if we go out for dinner?”

Well… Marinette didn’t expect that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette couldn't say no to miss Prince. She was just too nervous to reduce the offer.

The restaurant was fancy and expensive. Only the beverage was worth more than three months of rent. The people there were dressed in fancy outfits from Versace to Oscar de la Renta; it made Marinette feel underdressed with her orange T-shirt and cheap jeans. 

“So, Marinette, you told me you are interested in the fashion field.” Miss prince said as the took a sip from her glass of wine. 

“Y-yes miss Prince. I do ever s-since I was a little girl.”

“And what do you plant to accomplish them?”

Marinette froze. What were her plans?

Months ago, she had a prosperous future. She commissioned big pop and rock stars like Jagged and Clara. She won many design competitions from Gabriel Agreste. She was building a name, but now, all her work and effort was worthless. She had to start all over again, but the difference now is that she didn't have the same motivation. Before Gotham, she did it because she has her parents supporting her. Today, she did it to hold to the little sense of normality in her life of chaos.

“I-I don’t know ma’am. Maybe I could start by designing clothes and maybe sell them on Etsy. I h-hadn’t have the time to think through it. Moving here was too time consuming.” The girl said as tried not to shiver. If Miss Prince was going to fire her, Marinette hoped that she did it quickly, so she didn’t have to live with this fear any longer.

Miss Diana put her glass down. “Marinette I’m am gonna be sincere to you. You have talent and dedication. Those two qualities can get you somewhere good, but that can bring you to the glory, to your golden dream is passion. And by Arthemis’ sake, you have more passion than a hundred people together. I have seen how you enjoy creating new clothes and fixing them like if it was a way to get away from everything. That’s why I want you, if you allow me, to support you to become a fashion designer.

Okay… okay.... That took Marinette by surprise. She expected miss Prince to fire her for over speak, not to offer her support. 

“I-I.. Y-you want to help me?”

Diana smiled. “Of course, in fact, I have a proposition to you.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette locked the door of her apartment, put her key pack at her purse, and started happy dancing.

Diana (she insisted to be called by her first name) told her that after the Wayne’s gala she was going to close the boutique for three weeks. While this made Marinette sad because she would have to live from her saving can, what Diana told her next made her really happy. Diana offered her to work with her not for her. 

Here was the deal, for the next three week after the gala, Marinette would be working on her usual tasks but at her apartment while she attended a course about fashion design in Gotham University, fully paid by Diana. At the beginning, Marinette refused telling Diana that she felt that she would be abusing her kindness, but the older woman said that she saw this as an investment. Paying for her education was an investment so Diana and she would sell her clothes on her store under the girl’s name. They both would win. Marinette gets an education, and Diana a new brand for her boutique.

For Marinette this was like a dream come true. In fact, this was the best thing that has happened to her since… well since she defeated Hawkmoth. She will be studying in one of the most prestigious schools of fashion in the world, and if everything goes well, she will sell her clothes at Diana’s boutique, which is one of the most prestigious boutiques in the US.

“I still cannot believe it, Tikki!” Marinette said to the goddess, “this feels like a dream come true!”

The Kwami giggled, “I’m so proud of you Marinette! You deserve this!”

After putting her pajamas, Marinette let her body fell on her hard bed. She smiled like in a way that she hasn’t in the last month. “Tikki, please tell me that this is not a dream.”

The Kwami turned off the light and put a blanket over her body. “You aren’t dreaming, but you should do it soon. Diana wants to hear your ideas for the suits tomorrow morning.”

Marinette closed her eyes while she smiled. For the first time in a long time, she felt that she could just fall asleep and worry about nothing.

“Hey, Tikki?”

“Yes, Marinette?” The kwami said as she lay beside her hodder’s shoulder.

“Thank you for everything.” 

The kwami gave her a kiss on her cheek. “You don’t have to thank me for everything. You deserve the best.”

Eventhught her apartment was cold, sink in the kitchen dropped all night, and her neighbors screamed like if they wanted to kill each other, Marinette felt more at peace for the first time in ages… 

Sadly this wouldn’t last long.

@cyborgcandy 

@mikantsume @cyborgcandy @northernbluetongue @mystery-5-5@livpc @serina-leigh @tazanna-blythe @blue-peach14 @justarandomtumblerblog@fantasticfourintraining@indecisive-mess-named-me @xxmadamjinxx @ captainmac6 @luckysouleaglenerd@sidefrienda@mindfulmagics @komaedasnatched @adrienne7698@akira-daiyamondo-suta @raingirl0135@kittyotakunoir666 @a-cat-with-a-knife l@thebananathatwrites@howtoshuckatlife @dolph1nch1ca1@spicytacos @re-side-this @emocinamonroll@mystery-5-5 @spicybelladonna a @salladanne @mjisntme @lunar-wolf-warrior @tazanna-blythe @yin-390 @constancetruggle @celestiacq @laurakinneylance @roseinbloom02

@literallytryingmybestbutok @ellerahs @felicityroth @liawinchester67 @octoberscorn @eliza-bich @chrismarium @captainmac6 

[israeljoffeusa]

World of Unpredictable Wrestling at Gleason's Gym

FOX5NY (WNYW-TV) - Gleason’s Gym is a legendary boxing gym that sits in Dumbo right in between the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge.  Boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Zab Judah, Jake LaMotta, Roberto Duran and many others cut their teeth and trained there.

However, alongside the many boxing rings and up and coming pugilists in the facility, is another ring that has also churned out legends.  Professional wrestlers such as Tazz, Vince Russo, Rocco Rock, Tommy Dreamer, D-von Dudley, Big Dick Dudley, Matt Stryker and current WWE Superstar Big Cass all made their debut in this ring. A ring that is part of a wrestling club called the World of Unpredictable Wrestling; owned by WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz.

Israel Joffe

Rodz wrestled for the WWE back in the 1960s until the 1980s.  During that time, he was known as a great wrestling technician who could always be depended upon to make his opponents look great. He was also known as the man who management would use to test out the readiness of other wrestlers making their debut by putting them through the grinder and seeing what they were made of.

“I worked my heart out 120 percent” Johnny said.  “If they gave me anyone, good or not, I never complained. I did my job because it’s a professional game for the fans to enjoy. As long as I could perform for those people to believe it and make sense of it, then I feel like I did my job.”

All of his hard work eventually paid off.  In 1996, Johnny Rodz was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. “I did it for years and years, suffered through it all… and one day, got the call to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.”

Since retiring in the 1980s, Johnny turned his focus on transferring his knowledge to various up and comers who wanted to make it in the wrestling business.

“Fifty-two years ago, I was helping SD Jones get in the business. That’s the first guy I brought in the business” Johnny said. “Later on, I started a wrestling club in Brooklyn and eventually moved it to Gleason’s Gym in 1985.”

Today, the World of Unpredictable Wrestling, also known as the WUW, still has dozens of members, and hundreds of alumni, looking to hone their skills, fine tune their knowledge and continue learning the craft.

Ann Khozine, who wrestles as ‘Skin Ripper,’ started training at the WUW when she was just 16 years-old. Now, less than 2 years later, she is ready to make her wrestling debut in Japan.

“When I first started in November of 2014, I was just 16 and had to save every month just to pay my monthly dues. WUW molded me into an independent person and brought me into focus and gave me the love I have been longing for my whole life. And now, I will be debuting in Japan at a Reina show on July 7th!”

Once every other month, the World of Unpredictable Wrestling features a show which gives the members a chance to showcase their skills, and learn from their experiences, while performing in front of a live audience.

“Once you do the shows, you get rid of those butterflies; you learn everything about being on time, obeying the order of the pro-game” Johnny said. “Rain or shine, the show must go on, rain or shine, the person has to be willing to bring everything to make the crowd want to come back and see the show again.”

Johnny refers to the bi-monthly shows as a test for the members "in order to make them professionals."

“It is not an Indy show, it’s a member club production, where the members work together to practice what they learned and grow” he said. “This is the only way outside of practice where you’ll know if you have it or not. You need to learn the discipline the WWE looks for in order to succeed.  Obeying the game and honing your craft.”

Long-time member Mike “Mikey Firezone” Frisone has been training at the WUW since he was 13 years-old. He feels WUW has given him opportunities in the wrestling business but ultimately, it has made him a better professional not just in wrestling, but all around. “I look at Johnny as a second father to me. He has taught me so much not only in the ring, but outside of the ring as well" Mikey said.  "He taught me so much about professionalism and how to conduct yourself in the business, as well as life lessons. When Johnny teaches, he speaks from the heart. WUW is like no other because not only will it teach you the business from the ground up, but it will make you a better person in life.”

Another member, Dorian Holden, who wrestles as ‘Medic X,’ started at WUW back in 2008. He says the brotherhood and comradery he experienced at WUW is like nothing else he has ever experienced.  “We were all bound by the passion of professional wrestling. Johnny gave us the opportunity to experience the business. I love Johnny for giving me the platform to perform. He allowed us to live our dreams whether we had a chance to make it or not. There is a strong brotherhood at WUW and I am not sure you can find that at any other wrestling school or club.”

At 75 years-old, Johnny still doesn’t mind getting in the ring to teach his members the skills they need to learn in order to grow and develop. But when he isn’t in the ring, there are always experienced members, long-time members, who will teach what Johnny taught them and pass it down to the up and coming members. One of those members is “Cowboy Billy Walker” Mark Davalos. 

Davalos has been a mainstay of the World of Unpredictable Wrestling for over 25 years as both a mentor and trainer. When members train with him, they gain a wealth of knowledge which includes many of the basics and the most important aspect of the business, in-ring psychology.

"I joined  April 2nd,1990 and my wife Renee Westgate a.k.a 'The Texas Rose' joined on April 14th 1995" he said. "In that time, we have trained with Bill Demott, Taz, Tommy Dreamer, Damian Demento, Big Vito, D-von Dudley and many others. We are both steeped in tradition and proudly preach to the congregation known as the G.A.R. or the Gospel According to Rodz."

Davalos has a favorite saying that members of the club and alumni will attest to being true. "Who you know gets you there, what you know, keeps you there!"

[goldensimisage]

The small forest village’s activity always died down when noon approached, as most of it’s inhabitants finished their morning routines and were now enjoying some free time. So of course, this was the perfect moment for a tiny Eevee to slip away with an older Nuzleaf in tow! And so off they went, the Eevee happily bouncing along on a worn path through the forest, headed straight for the sound of flowing water.

“Will you be swimming too, mama?” The foxlike normal type asks after whirling around, practically hopping backwards all the while to keep up with his mother as she continued to walk.

“Maybe not, I've never been much of a swimmer..” That answer came as a disappointment for the Eevee, but he wasn’t going to complain. She was still going to be there, at least! His mother in the meantime smiled back at his upbeat attitude before something unusual caught both of their attention: amidst the normal sounds and smells of the forest, there was something new that definitely wasn’t natural. Someone was cooking fish!

“Do you smell that, Damian?” Just by glancing down at him, she could already tell what his answer would be. He was looking down the path in the same direction she was, his nose twitching while his tail swayed with curiosity.

They didn’t have to say a word after this, Damian already knew to walk behind his mother whenever there were potential strangers in Pinwheel Forest, but he wouldn’t be staying behind her for long. Once they came to the edge of the path and the forest opened up into a clearing where the sound of the water was louder than ever, the pair could see the source of the new scent: A few yards down the riverbank was a Simisage, familiar to them both tending to a skillet mounted above a campfire while a shiny Buizel splashed happily in the water.

“Uncle Gold!” The smallest of the group shouts out, already dashing out from behind the Nuzleaf to greet him. And, having relaxed upon realizing who was there, said Nuzleaf made no attempt to stop him as he sprinted right past her and leaped forward to tackle the Simisage, who had turned at the sound of a voice just in time for the Eevee to bounce harmlessly off of him and hop back to his feet with his tail wagging like mad.

“Oh, Damian! Chroma! How’ve you to been?” It seems he was completely unfazed by Damian’s attempt at a greeting as he remained seated in place with his tail curled up close to his waist, but he was happy to see the pair of them nonetheless! “I haven’t seen you two in ages.”

Damian shoots a glance back at Chroma, who in response gives him a thumbs up. And as soon as he got the okay, he took off straight for the river, and straight for the Buizel who’d paused to see what the commotion was. With the two of them both being equally excited to have someone to play with in the river, they’d be completely occupied while Chroma took a seat at the fire, taking it as a chance to speak with her sibling.

“So what brought you two out here today? It’s not too often I see you taking time to relax outside of Pinwheel Village.” “I could ask the same thing to you, Gold. You and our brother hardly ever come by anymore. I must not be the only one with a full plate, hm?” It was true. In the years since they’d become parents, they’d hardly had any chances to check in on each other.

Gold shifted a bit where he sat, glancing back at the river while he kept on talking to the Nuzleaf who’d been so kind to join him. “You’re right, there. Work, school events, battle classes now that she’s gotten a taste for that, I’ve hardly got any chances to just spend time with her anymore. Not that I’d complain about that last thing though, she’s got quite a gift for that stuff y’know?”

“Hm. Preaching to the choir on that front, brother.” She answers back with a sigh, now sitting cross-legged with her head resting in her hand. “You ever feel like maybe we should take a step back a bit, just for our kids?”

Gold didn’t answer, but he understood her sentiment. They were both worn down, and both Damian and Suzy seemed to enjoy their time with their parents, so they could all benefit from more days like this...

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

21st February >> Mass Readings (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Thursday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

    or 

Saint Peter Damian, Bishop, Doctor .

Thursday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading

Genesis 9:1-13

The sign of the Covenant

God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Be the terror and the dread of all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven, of everything that crawls on the ground and all the fish of the sea; they are handed over to you. Every living and crawling thing shall provide food for you, no less than the foliage of plants. I give you everything, with this exception: you must not eat flesh with life, that is to say blood, in it. I will demand an account of your life-blood. I will demand an account from every beast and from man. I will demand an account of every man’s life from his fellow men.

‘He who sheds man’s blood

shall have his blood shed by man,

for in the image of God

man was made.

‘As for you, be fruitful, multiply, teem over the earth and be lord of it.’

God spoke to Noah and his sons, ‘See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you, birds, cattle and every wild beast with you: everything that came out of the ark, everything that lives on the earth. I establish my Covenant with you: no thing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’

God said, ‘Here is the sign of the Covenant I make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all generations: I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 101(102):16-21,29,22-23

R/ The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.

The nations shall fear the name of the Lord

and all the earth’s kings your glory,

when the Lord shall build up Zion again

and appear in all his glory.

Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;

he will not despise their prayers.

R/ The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.

Let this be written for ages to come

that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;

for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.

He looked down from heaven to the earth

that he might hear the groans of the prisoners

and free those condemned to die.

R/ The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.

The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled

and their race shall endure before you

that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion

and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,

when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together

to pay their homage to the Lord.

R/ The Lord looked down from heaven to the earth.

Gospel Acclamation

James 1:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

By his own choice the Father made us his children

by the message of the truth,

so that we should be a sort of first-fruits

of all that he created.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf. John 6:63,68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 8:27-33

The way you think is not God's way, but man's

Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him. ‘John the Baptist,’ they said ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

——————-

Saint Peter Damian, Bishop, Doctor 

(Liturgical Colour: White)

First Reading

2 Timothy 4:1-5

Make the preaching of the Good news your life's work, in thoroughgoing service

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching. The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the Good News your life’s work, in thoroughgoing service.

The word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

it is you yourself who are my prize.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord ever in my sight:

since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path of life,

the fullness of joy in your presence,

at your right hand happiness for ever.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

John 15:9,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Remain in my love, says the Lord;

whoever remains in me, with me in him,

bears fruit in plenty.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 15:1-8

I am the vine, you are the branches

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I am the true vine,

and my Father is the vinedresser.

Every branch in me that bears no fruit

he cuts away,

and every branch that does bear fruit

he prunes to make it bear even more.

You are pruned already,

by means of the word that I have spoken to you.

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.

As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,

but must remain part of the vine,

neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine,

you are the branches.

Whoever remains in me, with me in him,

bears fruit in plenty;

for cut off from me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me

is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;

these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,

and they are burnt.

If you remain in me

and my words remain in you,

you may ask what you will

and you shall get it.

It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,

and then you will be my disciples.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

[rudyscuriocabinet]

Forerunner of Christ, John became so by his birth, his preaching, his baptism and his death... Can we find a single virtue or a single form of holiness that the Forerunner did not possess in the highest degree? Who among the holy hermits ever imposed on himself the rule of taking nothing as food but wild honey or that inedible dish - locusts! There are some who renounce the world and fly from men to live a holy life, but John was no more than a child... when he buried himself in the desert and determined to inhabit its solitudes. He renounced his right to succeed his father in the priestly office so that he could freely proclaim the true and supreme High Priest. The prophets preached beforehand the coming of the Savior; the apostles and other teachers of the Church testify this coming to have truly taken place; but John shows it to be present among us. There are many who have preserved their virginity and kept unsullied the whiteness of their garment (cf. Rv 14,4), but John has forsaken all human company that he might root out the lusts of the flesh by their roots and, full of spiritual zeal, might dwell with wild beasts. John is at the very heart of the scarlet choir of martyrs as leader of them all: bravely he fought and died for the truth. He has become the leader of all who fight for Christ and was the first to plant the triumphal standard of martyrdom in heaven.

Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072), Doctor of the Church, Sermons 24-25, ‘Precursor in life and death’

[cosmicmordecai]

Yo like, I must be one of the few people here on this site that can’t stand how people infantilize the Bat-family in the fandom and how they treat certain issues in general.

Like really; y'all celebrate Jason Todd being a “feminist” when he’s written to be attacking his own family and their allies (including Catwoman the Birds of Prey iirc) and shot at Damian, a 12 year old. Like no qualms about killing a child? I guess respect for women is better? Even if he’s trying to kill people who genuinely care? Mistakes were made but I’m not sure killing them is appropriate.

Speaking of Damian, y'all absolve him of ALL things cause he’s a cute jackass and can do some pretty stretching things and fans will defend him. It’s stretching, really. Like him recently weakening OG Wally West’s heart! Oh but he’s cute and Super Sons! Yeah. Doesn’t stop him doing it in canon and how there’s a percentage in which thinks it’s “okay”.

With Dick Grayson, y'all want this super nice guy and sexy guy but get mad at canon for “sexualizing” him. Like anyone can see your sexy fan art of said character. You can preach that but think “I’m a fan” excuses your end? And some go on rants about bisexual Dick Grayson but then act like Dick has never exclusively dated women for all his character life and that the actual robin that was seemingly bi was actually Jason Todd (I mean, Judd Winick was asked this and he couldn’t give a straight answer). And no, HES NOT NICE.

And apparently, Tim Drake is just smart dude. Like as if that’s all to him. I don’t have much to say because Tim seems constantly patronize to awkward, nerd kid that love hates Damian and….that’s about it. I don’t have much on him though.

And don’t get me started on the female Batfamily characters. It’s arguably worse just because try addressing it and it’ll be a social issue. Since the people above are guys, criticizing them won’t land you in as deep doo doo.

I don’t really get Steph so I won’t go in-depth but there has to be more to this character than snarky one liners, waffles, and “kick-butt”. With the exception of waffles, you’re describing how fictional media tends to depict females who’re strong and independent and needs no man in general if they’re not being damsel in distress or playing a role where they’re not really characters per-say.

And Cassandra Cain…it’s almost like you want a Mary-Sue ish character. Like no; she really can’t be beating everyone like it’s nothing. Male or female. Like no, her being “90 pounds” is not the problem. In a universe where there’s powerful metahumans of varying degrees and other character with fair skill too, going all Bruce lee can’t seriously be the only thing. Also, it’s like everyone fighting her H2H with gear forgets to use it. Some fans just wanna prop her up. Be fucking honest: you want Cassandra Cain beating ALL THE ASS because favorite character! It’s can’t be “because diversity” because she’s beating characters who’re considered diverse too and being shrilled over diverse characters too.

And with these two characters, why must people constantly argue who’s worthy of being the more “interesting” Batgirl? People act as If Barbara being paralyze was a legit attempt at diversity in disabled character, ignoring how it saddled a character unnecessarily of her own popularity with a problem because a writer wrote a AU that became canon. Like I get the passion behind Oracle but you cannot convince me that people should prefer a character sticking to being a major supporting character at best for your favorite. It’s fair to say she equally deserves to cash in her popularity or acknowledge that there’s a huge amount of fans perfectly okay with her mobility given she is the most recognized Batgirl.

Speaking of Barbara, when is anyone ever going to speak up about how she’s written to invalidate Dick’s feelings or written as If she must have a say so in his love life? And also, how is it that Dick is the sole bad guy in their relationship but writing doesn’t acknowledge her ridiculous expectations? And even worse, most people are unaware/side-swipe stark problems in her characterization. Take your Pre-52 I purposely don’t let my apparent “equal” in on a plan and rather make him feel he’ll have to do it all because I’m Barbara fucking Gordon. Or your New 52 I think Dick Grayson should drop finding LADY SHIVA to fight Joker because he’s supposed to be my friend? Or how about the time she’s written to use Canary’s garage without her consent and BURNED her dojo after a gadget malfunction? She isn’t perfect either even if writing pretends otherwise.

Like this apparent treatment in which the females must be “queens” or worshipped even with the Robins falls flat on its face anyway! Nobody talks about Betty Kane! Not many defended New 52 Helena Bertinelli and wants to talk how her Pre-52, bless her coolness, was strictly drawn like every other “attractive, black haired woman with blue eyes” and how that’s “iconic” and making her BI-RACIAL doesn’t erase her Italian heritage nor does it really take away from the character given she should of been distinct from Helena Wayne in the beginning! Nobody talks about how in-canon, Barbara is Dick’s one true love and Helena is told this after she kissed Dick and his body was hijacked by a super villain and being a black character, it may come off terrible that the white character is expressed as a preference over the black character however unintentionally (given the character is literally a nazi) and then said relationship is called a ship passing in the night by Tim Seeley.

Now I can’t possibly address all the Batfam characters but here’s my point; YES, your favorite character has flaws, other fans of characters like myself WILL call them out, and be fucking honest whatever spectrum you fall in; You want your favs respected because they’re your favs!

Like the level of denial and the pretending of inflating the character’s positive traits to ignore the bad and using social topics to defend from it has to stop! And no, depending on the instance and said flaw, it’s not just “bad writing”/“OOC” although it’s always subjective anyway given people will ride with one’s negative character trait if it enhances their perception of their fav!

[nickatnightwalker-blog]

damian doesn’t understand the entire concept of The Baby, nick’s apparently been engaged to a bird for months now, nick is honestly confused by damian’s blatant refusal to behave likeably or even neutrally in front of anyone but him

a-thousand-dreadful-things Is he talking about a literal baby?

nickatnightwalker oh uh i dont know how old iti s it might be a baby for all i fucking know

a-thousand-dreadful-things Is it his baby?

nickatnightwalker he found it, so i guess so he didnt like, give birth to it though i feel like that's beyond the level of weirdness we're dealing with

a-thousand-dreadful-things He found a literal human baby?

nickatnightwalker it's a six eyed bird that comes up to my waist and i personally cant hold up with one arm it's the baby.  it's helpless you know

a-thousand-dreadful-things Are you fucking with me?

nickatnightwalker ive met it eye to eye to eye to eye to eye etc

a-thousand-dreadful-things I hate this fucking school.

nickatnightwalker i know the whole concept of enormous bird of prey as helpless infant is kind of a lot but you just gotta roll with it just fucking. go with it.  or else youll wanna shoot yourself. besides, it's pretty ok.  little bit of a brat though.

a-thousand-dreadful-things It can't possibly be happy locked up in a dorm. It's a wild animal. He should let it go free.

nickatnightwalker it is free it just like comes to visit or something we went up into one of the towers in ra and he called it and it fucking came dude.

a-thousand-dreadful-things Beholden to a master who feeds it is not the same as free.

nickatnightwalker oh it can most definitely feed itself damian i think it comes to him for like, hugs

a-thousand-dreadful-things Unsanitary.

nickatnightwalker youre preaching to the choir here buddy birds fucking love me for some goddamn reason and they're the worst

a-thousand-dreadful-things How much experience do you have with "birds" as a general category that you know that they "love you"?

nickatnightwalker once i was in central park and as an experiment i just didn't move and no less than four pigeons eventually ended up sitting on me

a-thousand-dreadful-things Pigeons roost on anything that stays still for an extended period of time. Insufficient evidence for significance.

nickatnightwalker alright then the seagulls at LBI who not only didn't steal my food, they actually brought me someone else's sandwich and then laid down around my chair

a-thousand-dreadful-things You're making that up.

nickatnightwalker pictures are on facebook dont like, like anything or comment on anything though my dad's a demon also there was a crow that lived on my street and brought me buttons and shit once it brought me someones engagement ring that was awesome

a-thousand-dreadful-things Though I imagine less awesome for whomever lost the ring. Or perhaps the crow was proposing?

nickatnightwalker maybe they threw it, you dont know oh shit

nickatnightwalker i cant fucking believe im engaged

a-thousand-dreadful-things I can't believe you've been fooling around with me, and all this time... Your poor crow fiancee must be devastated.

nickatnightwalker i cant even believe i did that it's like i dont know myself

nickatnightwalker although on a scale of one to divorce papers i feel like you and i probably only fucked up at like, a level three

a-thousand-dreadful-things Perhaps she doesn't even know.

nickatnightwalker well damn am i supposed to come clean honey i held a guy's hand im sorry i know now it was wrong although actually i didnt at the time or do i spare her the pain

nickatnightwalker she doesnt even HAVE hands d that's gotta be a sore spot

a-thousand-dreadful-things You can tenderly clasp her scaled feet. Explain it was merely an emotional affair; beg her to forgive you.

nickatnightwalker ugh have you ever actually touched a bird's feet that's been a huge obstacle in our relationship

a-thousand-dreadful-things I see. Birds may love you; but you clearly do not return the feelings. Unfortunate.

nickatnightwalker all they really like me for is my hair

a-thousand-dreadful-things Well: understandable.

nickatnightwalker oh my god not you too

a-thousand-dreadful-things Frankly, I fear the day you get a haircut, Nick, and all my tenuous feelings vanish into thin air.

nickatnightwalker well what the fuck i thought it was for my motherfucking charming attitude and tact

a-thousand-dreadful-things What a pleasant surprise! Nick Walker apparently has heard the word "tact" before. I wondered, since you possess none.

nickatnightwalker pot, meet kettle

a-thousand-dreadful-things I suppose that's fair.

nickatnightwalker im a fucking UN diplomat next to you d

a-thousand-dreadful-things I can be composed when I want to be. Most of the time it just doesn't matter to me whether anyone thinks I'm tactful or not.

nickatnightwalker i thought you were aiming to keep the enemies to a minimum

a-thousand-dreadful-things *Mortal enemies. "Enemies" as a blanket category is much more difficult to maintain.

nickatnightwalker you think so? probably wouldnt be if you worked on that tact thing ive been here as long as you and theres only one person who hates my ass, jsyk

a-thousand-dreadful-things As long as no one's trying to kill me I have no objection to a pool of low-level dislike. I can only control myself, Nick, not others.

nickatnightwalker right but have you considered it might just be like

nickatnightwalker nice if people liked you

a-thousand-dreadful-things It doesn't really matter to me either way. All the people whose opinions I give a damn about like me already.

nickatnightwalker not daisy

a-thousand-dreadful-things I do not say this with intent to offend, but; you think I still care about her opinion?

nickatnightwalker damian, is there anyone else here like at all that youre on good terms with?

a-thousand-dreadful-things Ines.

a-thousand-dreadful-things I helped Valentine and Aud a few days ago. Not that they rank very highly on my list of people whose opinions I care about.

nickatnightwalker who IS on that list

a-thousand-dreadful-things You. Ines, I suppose.

nickatnightwalker damian.  did you care about having my good opinion before you actually had it because i feel like you might be doing this backwards

a-thousand-dreadful-things That depends. At what point did I finally succeed in gaining your good opinion?

nickatnightwalker who says you have it?

nickatnightwalker that was kinda presumptuous ngl you know if you talked to more people how you talk to me youd probably have and then care about their good opinion in that order

a-thousand-dreadful-things I suppose I understand that. But I have no real interest in it.

nickatnightwalker how do you not see how that could like, generally make your life easier d

a-thousand-dreadful-things My life isn't terribly difficult as is.

nickatnightwalker i dont get it

nickatnightwalker i mean i get not caring i do that every day but it's so easy not to make people hate your ass except for aud but shes a basket case

a-thousand-dreadful-things Aud's not so bad.

nickatnightwalker she HATES me so i kinda dont care for her

a-thousand-dreadful-things She seems incapable of true hate. Like a particularly angry kitten made of clay. Anyway; it's certainly possible you've done something by accident that riled her up. Any idea?

nickatnightwalker oh yeah definitely. wynn asked me to the dance and she decidedthat made us rivals

nickatnightwalker i tried to throw you under that bus actually by pointing out she ditched me for you but it didnt really stick

nickatnightwalker anyway sorry i was making a vinegar and baking soda volcano with misha it was a scientific breakthrough

[sakrum1]

Saturday, 5 August 2017 : Commentary Saint Peter Damian

Forerunner of Christ, John became so by his birth, his preaching, his baptism and his death... Can we find a single virtue or a single form of holiness that the Forerunner did not possess in the highest degree? Who among the holy hermits ever imposed on himself the rule of taking nothing as food but wild honey or that inedible dish - locusts! There are some who renounce the world and fly from men to live a holy life, but John was no more than a child... when he buried himself in the desert and determined to inhabit its solitudes. He renounced his right to succeed his father in the priestly office so that he could freely proclaim the true and supreme High Priest. The prophets preached beforehand the coming of the Savior; the apostles and other teachers of the Church testify this coming to have truly taken place; but John shows it to be present among us. There are many who have preserved their virginity and kept unsullied the whiteness of their garment (cf. Rv 14,4), but John has forsaken all human company that he might root out the lusts of the flesh by their roots and, full of spiritual zeal, might dwell with wild beasts. John is at the very heart of the scarlet choir of martyrs as leader of them all: bravely he fought and died for the truth. He has become the leader of all who fight for Christ and was the first to plant the triumphal standard of martyrdom in heaven.

[junker-town]

NBA mock draft 2017: The 76ers complete ‘The Process’ with Markelle Fultz

Philadelphia found their man by trading up to No. 1.

The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics rocked the NBA this week by agreeing to the first trade for the No. 1 overall pick since 1993. This means Markelle Fultz is going to Philly and it sets the rest of the draft in motion.

The draft really starts at No. 2 with the Lakers on the clock. Lonzo Ball has been the presumptive favorite since the lottery, but Josh Jackson has been rumored to be making a strong run. Then there’s the Celtics at No. 3, where the choice looks like it will be between Jackson and Jayson Tatum.

The Suns have to be thrilled with the Celtics-Sixers swap because it appears to give them a better shot at Jackson, who would offer the two-way versatility they need. The Kings are sitting at No. 5 just hoping De’Aaron Fox is still available.

We’ll finally know how it all shakes out on Thursday. Until then, here’s our latest mock:

1. Philadelphia 76ers - Markelle Fultz, G, Washington

The trade up to No. 1 is a no-brainer for the Sixers. After drafting approximately 200 big men in a row, Philadelphia gets the best guard prospect to hit the draft since at least Kyrie Irving in 2011. Fultz is at his best with the ball in his hands, but he also has the size, scoring instincts and shooting range to play off the ball alongside Ben Simmons. A core of Fultz, Simmons and Joel Embiid has the potential to be absolutely special. The Process is over; long live The Process.

2. Los Angeles Lakers - Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA

The Lakers are thinking small if they really take Josh Jackson over Lonzo Ball. That’s where I’m at now. Jackson is a great fit on paper: he’s the type of big, versatile wing every team wants, and he’d also be superior defensive presence next to Brandon Ingram and D’Angelo Russell. Jackson will be a good NBA player. Lonzo Ball can be a great one.

Our guy JZ Mazlish wrote a compelling contrarian case for Ball over Fultz as the best player in the draft last week. My favorite point from that: Ball’s dominance is so unique that it’s hard for a lot of people to comprehend. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were once the same way.

3. Boston Celtics - Jayson Tatum, SF, Duke

The Celtics knew they would be drafting a player out of the high school class of 2016 from the minute they made their now infamous trade with the Nets in 2013. Tatum sat at or near the top of those class rankings since they first developed. My guess is Boston has been closely tracking Tatum for years and had him as 1B (or possibly 1A) on their board with Fultz. From that perspective, the chance to take a player they love while adding more premium future picks is the process is a no-brainer.

I’m not the biggest Tatum fan — I had him No. 6 overall on my big board — but he looks like a great fit next to Jaylen Brown in Boston. Brown is the superior athlete with a higher defensive ceiling while Tatum projects to offer true go-to scoring ability. Personally, I’d rather have Fultz, but there’s a chance this ends up eventually looking like a brilliant trade for Danny Ainge.

4. Phoenix Suns - Josh Jackson, G/F, Kansas

No one is more jacked up about the 76ers-Celtics trade than the Suns. Josh Jackson seemed likely to go No. 3 before the trade. Now he should be available for Suns at No. 4. Jackson is exactly what Phoenix needs: a high-motor, two-way wing next to Devin Booker and the developing young front court of Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss.

5. Sacramento Kings - De’Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky

If Jackson is falling to No. 4, that all but assures De’Aaron Fox will be there for the Kings at No. 5. That was always the best case scenario for Sacramento. The Kings badly needed a new face of the franchise following the DeMarcus Cousins trade, and Fox can be that. He’s a blur with the ball in his hands in the open and competes on both ends of the court. If is jump shot comes around like Mike Conley’s did after leaving Ohio State — a player he’s often compared to — he’s going to be a really good player.

6. Orlando Magic - Jonathan Isaac, F, Florida State

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Magic could go in any direction with this pick. I think Isaac is a strong possibility because of the way new GM John Hammond targeted long and raw athletes during his time in Milwaukee. The difference here is Isaac doesn’t really fit the mold of a traditional boom-or-bust pick: his defensive upside is so unique that whatever he gives you on offense is basically gravy. Imagine an Aaron Gordon-Jonathan Isaac front court. That sounds like the future.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves - Lauri Markkanen, PF, Arizona

Ideally, the Wolves would love to add Isaac. Markkanen is a very different player to slide in between Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, but he should still be effective nonetheless. Markannen is a truly elite shooter at 7-feet tall who should give the Wolves’ fleet of athletes plenty of room to make plays. Who knows, maybe Tom Thibodeau can even find a way to make him productive on defense.

8. New York Knicks - Frank Ntilikina, PG, France

The Knicks need a guard and there are three great ones on the board in Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr. and Ntilikina. The Knicks have been scouting Ntilikina for months and he looks like the best fit in the Triangle of the three. Ideally, he turns into a 3-and-D lead guard a la George Hill.

9. Dallas Mavericks - Dennis Smith Jr., PG, NC State

This is the best case scenario for Dallas. The Mavericks need a point guard, and Smith could be drafted in the top five based on his talent. He’s a relentless rim attacker who averaged more points, assists, rebounds and steals than Fox in his one season of college basketball. He also shot the ball a lot better from three-point range. NC State was just a strange and bad team last season, but that was in spite of Smith, not because of him.

10. Sacramento Kings - Malik Monk, G, Kentucky

This isn’t a perfect fit. The Kings already have a young shooting guard they love in Buddy Hield who profiles as a similar player to Monk. I just think Monk is by far the best player left on the board, so why not take him? The Fox-Monk backcourt was so much fun at Kentucky. Let’s run it back in Sacramento for the next 10 years.

11. Charlotte Hornets - Luke Kennard, G, Duke

Kennard has reportedly become one of the draft’s biggest risers. He’s coming off a breakout sophomore season at Duke, where he posted scoring numbers that were way more efficient than Tatum’s. His shooting ability (44 percent from three) should be attractive to a Charlotte team that’s been looking for more shooters.

12. Detroit Pistons - Donovan Mitchell, G, Louisville

Mitchell reminds me a bit of Avery Bradley: he’s short for a two guard (6’3), but he has long arms, a 40-inch vertical and serious defensive upside. He made major strides as a shooter as a sophomore at Louisville, and that part of his game will have to be for real to warrant a lottery pick. This would give Stan Van Gundy a nice stable of young wings alongside Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson.

13. Denver Nuggets - Zach Collins, C, Gonzaga

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Collins broke out in the NCAA tournament as arguably Gonzaga’s best player on its way to the NCAA tournament title game. He offers a combination of shooting and shot blocking that should be attractive next to Nikola Jokic in the front court. A player like OG Anunoby would also be a nice fit here, but taking Collins would be a case of going for the best player available.

14. Miami Heat - OG Anunoby, SF, Indiana

Anunoby is on the short list of the best defensive prospects in this class. He’s long armed, athletic and strong, theoretically giving the Heat a player who could defend up to four positions. He and Justise Winslow would be trouble on the wing if their jump shots come around. Granted, that���s a big if.

15. Portland Trail Blazers - Justin Jackson, SF, North Carolina

The Blazers could use a big wing to put next to Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Jackson fits that mold. He made incredible strides as a shooter during a junior season with North Carolina that ended in a national championship. He also defended Malik Monk as well as anyone all season in UNC’s dramatic Elite Eight victory. He’s older than any other prospect taken to this point, but he feels like a safe-ish bet to at least carve out a rotation spot in the NBA.

16. Chicago Bulls - Justin Patton, C, Creighton

It feels like the Bulls could go in any direction with this pick. Jackson would fit the front office’s longheld preference for productive, veteran college players, but he goes one pick too soon in this mock. If that happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if Justin Patton is a player they like. Doug McDermott’s dad was his college coach at Creighton and he fits the “younger and more athletic” mod the front office has been preaching, but not practicing.

17. Milwaukee Bucks - Harry Giles, C, Duke

The Bucks hit the jackpot on a boom-or-bust draft prospect with Giannis Antetokounmpo back in 2013. Thon Maker fit a similar profile last year and already looks like a good pick. Will Milwaukee continue to follow this strategy without departed GM John Hammond? Why not? If so, someone like Giles could make sense. He was a former No. 1 overall recruit before repeated knee injuries left him largely ineffective during his one season at Duke. If he can regain his previous form (another big if), this could be another quality pick for Milwaukee.

18. Indiana Pacers - T.J. Leaf, PF, UCLA

The Pacers are in an impossible spot in this draft without knowing the future of Paul George. When in doubt, just draft a shooter. It was Leaf — not Lonzo Ball — who was UCLA’s leading scorer as a freshman. He’s also a 46 percent three-point shooter. Pairing him with Myles Turner could give the Pacers premium spacing.

19. Atlanta Hawks - Jarrett Allen, C, Texas

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Allen has ideal length (7’5) and impressive foot speed for an NBA center. The Hawks would be wise to use this pick on a young big man to develop behind Dwight Howard after drafting two wings in the first round last year.

20. Portland Trail Blazers - Terrance Ferguson, SG, Adelaine

Terrance Ferguson is a perfect pick for a team like Portland with three first round selections. There’s a lot to like about his physical tools: great positional size (6’7) for a shooting guard with explosive leaping ability and a good three-point stroke. It’s all about feel for the game and committing on the defensive end for him.

21. Oklahoma City Thunder - Kyle Kuzma, F, Utah

Kuzma is a versatile 6’9 forward who can defend and pass. His three-point shot (32 percent last season) will determine exactly how high his ceiling is.

22. Brooklyn Nets - John Collins, PF, Wake Forest

Collins does a lot of things well. Namely: score efficiently inside and clean the glass. That helped him produce the highest PER of anyone in this draft class. His game also has two major question marks: rim protection and shooting range. He reminds me a bit of Enes Kanter. The Nets need productive players anyway they can get them, and Collins is a safe bet to put up numbers as a pro.

23. Toronto Raptors - Jonah Bolden, F, Australia

Bolden was a top-50 recruit out of high school who left UCLA after one season to play professionally in Serbia. He’s 6’10, 230 lbs. with good athleticism and a nice jumper. Everyone would have known his name if he decided to stick with the Bruins another season to play with Lonzo Ball.

24. Utah Jazz - Derrick White, G, Colorado

White put up big numbers in his DI debut at Colorado. He’s been a star of the post-draft circuit and could very well be a first rounder now. He can play either backcourt spot and has the ability to shoot, pass and dribble. That’s a good fit anywhere, especially for a Utah team that could lose George Hill and/or Gordon Hayward in free agency.

25. Orlando Magic - Ike Anigbogu, C, UCLA

Anigbogu reminds me a bit of Bismack Biyombo and is a whole lot cheaper. I think he’s got the most upside of anyone left on the board at this point.

26. Portland Trail Blazers - Isaiah Hartenstein, C, Germany

Hartenstein is a try hard big man with a developing face-up game. He was also born in Oregon so he should fit right in with the Blazers.

27. Brooklyn Nets - Semi Ojeleye, F, SMU

Ojeleye has three level scoring ability and the strength to battle with bigger players. The question is his lateral quickness defensively. He’s still one of my favorite sleepers in the late first round.

28. Los Angeles Lakers - DJ Wilson, F, Michigan

Wilson has great size (6’10, 240 lbs.), a nice shooting stroke and some shot blocking potential. He could be a major steal if he lasts to this point in the first round.

29. San Antonio Spurs - Tony Bradley, C, North Carolina

Bradley is an elite offensive rebounder with nice touch around the rim. The question is whether he is quick enough to defend the pick-and-roll.

30. Utah Jazz - Anzejs Pasecniks, C, Latvia

Pasecniks is 7’2 with a good shooting stroke. He had a solid season playing professionally in Spain and feels like he could go 10 picks higher than this.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

21st February 2017 >> Mass Readings (Europe, New Zealand, Canada & South Africa) Tuesday of Week Seven in Ordinary Time or Saint Peter Damian, Bishop, Doctor

Tuesday of Week Seven in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green) First Reading Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord,    prepare yourself for an ordeal. Be sincere of heart, be steadfast,    and do not be alarmed when disaster comes. Cling to him and do not leave him,    so that you may be honoured at the end of your days. Whatever happens to you, accept it,    and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire,    and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust him and he will uphold you,    follow a straight path and hope in him. You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy;    do not turn aside in case you fall. You who fear the Lord, trust him,    and you will not be baulked of your reward. You who fear the Lord hope for good things,    for everlasting happiness and mercy. Look at the generations of old and see:    who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever feared him steadfastly and was left forsaken?    Or who ever called out to him, and was ignored? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful,    he forgives sins, and saves in days of distress. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 36(37):3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40 R/ Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act. If you trust in the Lord and do good,    then you will live in the land and be secure. If you find your delight in the Lord,    he will grant your heart’s desire. R/ Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act. He protects the lives of the upright,    their heritage will last for ever. They shall not be put to shame in evil days,    in time of famine their food shall not fail. R/ Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act. Then turn away from evil and do good    and you shall have a home for ever; for the Lord loves justice    and will never forsake his friends. R/ Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,    their stronghold in time of distress. The Lord helps them and delivers them    and saves them: for their refuge is in him. R/ Commit your life to the Lord, trust him and he will act. Gospel Acclamation John 14:23 Alleluia, alleluia! If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him. Alleluia! Or Galatians 6:14 Alleluia, alleluia! The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. Alleluia! Gospel Mark 9:30-37 After leaving the mountain Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.    They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ ————–

Saint Peter Damian, Bishop, Doctor

(Liturgical Colour: White) First Reading 2 Timothy 4:1-5 Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching. The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the Good News your life’s work, in thoroughgoing service. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11 R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord. Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.    I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’ O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;    it is you yourself who are my prize. R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord. I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,    who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight:    since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord. You will show me the path of life,    the fullness of joy in your presence,    at your right hand happiness for ever. R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord. Gospel Acclamation John 15:9,5 Alleluia, alleluia! Remain in my love, says the Lord; whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty. Alleluia! Gospel John 15:1-8

Jesus said:‘I am the true vine,and my Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in me that bears no fruithe cuts away,and every branch that does bear fruithe prunes to make it bear even more.You are pruned already,by means of the word that I have spoken to you.Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,but must remain part of the vine,neither can you unless you remain in me.I am the vine,you are the branches.Whoever remains in me, with me in him,bears fruit in plenty;for cut off from me you can do nothing.Anyone who does not remain in meis like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,and they are burnt.If you remain in meand my words remain in you,you may ask what you willand you shall get it.It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,and then you will be my disciples.’