#that whole 'dont meet your heroes' thing counts for family members too

[ishizizzle]

Oh no I'm going thriving that transitional phase all black girls in 90s movies went through before they did something wild

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House Reviews: The Purrfect Gig

The Sam/Luna trilogy comes to an end here, as we get to the most recent of their now annual episodes, each so far produced and aired toward the end of the season. That being said like last season Sam had at least one apperance before this as I saw her in the thumbnail to “Deep Cuts”, the OTHER Lunacentric episode this season. And while it sounded bad to me at first looking into it.. no. The writers, for the most part, gave almost every kid two episodes a piece, and last season gave each 3, so to the writers credit they TRY to ballance out who gets episodes.  

The exceptions are Lincoln, who has around 5 that don’t also feature the girls as a whole, and 2 of those are with Lana, Lori who has 4, 2 of them shared and justifed as she’s possibly leaving for College next season and thus her episodes outside of one focus ont hat, and Lana and Lola: Lana has 3, and Lola has 2, and both have one together. And really even with those imballances it’s really impressive the show juggles 14 leads, with the parents themselves getting 2 this year too, along with Clyde, not counting his ones with Lincoln. | And that’s WITH the baffling decision this season to have the first 5 episodes be “With THe Cassagrandes”, i.e. 5 episodes of the Casagrandes that are counted as loud house episode that weren’t produced over at the sister show for some reason. And I have nothing against the Cassagrandes, what i’ve seen it’s not a bad show: I already have gone on about how much I love bobby, and I also love CJ and new comer Sam. I love the fact it has plenty of representation and a diffrent kind of big family, I love the theme song and I love the fact Melissa Joan Heart is on it because she’s terrific and spent the last decade really not picking her roles well. She was the lead in Holiday in Handcuffs, aka the movie where she kidnaps Mario Lopez and holds him at gunpoint to pretend to be her fiance until he gets Stockholm syndrome for really flimsy reasons. But I dont’ feel i’ts fair to the show to wedge it into another show’s spot: The Cassagrande-Santiago clan has shown up in 2 half hour loud houses and 2 15 minute eps. The kids watching KNOW these characters, and reception of the loudest mission was positive enough to get a spinoff made. You don’t need to spend a huge amount of another show’s episode order to promote a show kids will likely watch because it has characters from a show that airs all the time and is uber popular and has a similar humor style, and fans of the Loud House will at least try becuase they like the mothership and have known was coming for years now. This show HAD an audience going in. I watched both American Dad and the Clevland Show because it was from the same crew as family guy which I liked at the time. Granted American Dad had a decent stretch and Clevland Show .. had David LYnch as a recurring cast member I guess? Seriously david, this and not gravity falls? The point is it feels insulting that they felt the need to try and promote the show more, and all they did was take up episodes of the loud house and confuse children, and possibly turn viewers off a show they would’ve watched anyways. And if your wondering why I took such a massive detour it’s simple: Other than noticing the fact they’ve been specifically making sure each sibling gets more than one spotlight episode, shared or not, and this dumb decision.. Season 4 isn’t THAT much diffrent than Season 3. It carries on plots started there  (Lori heading towards college, Luann and Luna’s relationship), but otherwise it’s basically just more shipping and shenanigans. But really. .that’s far from a bad thing, as I consider season 3 a highwater mark for the show, and it introduced a lot of neat new elements (Lynn’s Table, Stella, Leni having a job) that are still prevelant in season 4. It’s not bad and it’s even more understandable given that next season, every character is growing a year (thank you press releases), meaning they have tons of new plots to explore, and large status quo shifts with Lincoln going to middle school, which out of the four schools shown is so far the most underdeveloped and will need development, and Lori possibly moving out of the house and going to college, among many other things that have me chomping at the bit for next season. But that’s probably a few months away so for now, it’s time to get back on focus and with everything else out of the way, the actual review of this episode starts under the cut. 

We open with Luna sitting in bed sighing when her poster of Mick Swagger starts talking to her. Whatever she’s smoking I could really use some. Depression is a bitch. Anyways, her drug induced hallucination of her hero starts talking to her. I haven’t really talked about Mick yet since the show uses him sporadically but he’s exactly what you’d expect; The show’s version of Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, only slightly younger.. maybe. I dunno. Maybe he’s been around since the 60′s and is just a timelord. Or a groovy robot. Or has a dorian grey thing going on. We haven’t really gotten into Dino Spimoni situation yet where Luna helps her idol and has to help him reunite with a partner or convince him to stop faking his death. Just a reminder that Hey Arnold is great and that if you think it’s odd his crooner dean martin based idol got talked out of faking his death by a 12 year old, keep in mind he also tracked down the daughter his vitamise neighbor gave up so she could go to america and have a better life, helped convince his neighbors not divorce, and had to save his pig from being eaten in a revolutionary war reinactment. Hey Arnold was far weirder than I remembered and i’m here for it.  Anyways, Hallucination Mick asks if Luna is coming to his concert this weekend, and she HOPES so she just dosen’t have the money for  VIP pass to meet the actual version and do drugs with the actual mick swagger for a change. He says you never know when opportunity will come a knockin and it does in the form of the McBrides! Clyde’s dad’s Howard, the skinny one voiced by national treasure Micheal McDonald and Wayne Brady whose also great.. and i’m not just saying that because i’ve seen this. Don’t be absurddddd....

Howard and Harold are Clyde’s dads... and while Clarence and Steven Universe beat them to having Gay parents in a children’s cartoon, their still the first interacial gay couple in a children’s cartoon, and on a nicktoon period, and even if they weren’t either of those it’d still be fucking great. Anyways the two are nice characters, while i haven’t seen EVERY ep with them their a loving couple, nice parents, and treat the loud kids as their own.. granted that goes too far in one episode, but still, thems good people.  Anyway Howards having a panic attack, respect, and as his husband calms him down, we find out why: the mcbrides are going to pick up nana for the annual family reunion, and their catsitter cancled. Hence Howard’s freakout and Harold worrying about the 20 pounds of amish potato salad in the trunk. So naturally their hoping someone can watch their cats, Cleopawtra and Nefurtiti for the day, and them going to the louds makes sense, both for the obvious of the Louds being their closest friends in the neighborhood, and the not so obvious of a previous episode I haven’t seen having established the older kids as the best babysitters in royal woods, meaning that in addition to knowing them they have skill and this likely isn’t the first time. Luna, not thinking about herself, admits Lori went to hit the golf course early and Leni is at work, a nice way to explaning why it’s Luna that gets the job: She was there and it was implied by the fact she was getting high and talking to her hallucination that Luann isn’t, so most of the other options they’d have without some reservations are gone with no contrivance necessary.  Anyways Luna’s Drug Fueld hallucination,  points out money can be exchanged for goods and services, such as VIP passes, and also mentions sam already has hers. Either Luna’s forgot or her hallucination can use her phone. Either is probable, and is backed up by Hallucination Sam, before both start playing their guitars and Luna air guitars with them. I”m unsuprsied by all of this. She offers and the McBrides take her up on it immeditley. I do like that it avoids the “I don’t know if your up to this” cliche that always happens in these types of scenarios, the McBrides have no reason not to trust her, so they just.. do. Hell Harold only sets out one rule: don’t invite anyone over.. and it’s not even because he dosen’t trust Luna to have anyone over or anything like that, he just knows the cats get anxious with a crowd, though their therapist is working with them on that. And of course the two rich men with a single child have a cat therapist. I would too if I were rich. Harold and Clyde throw and unconcious Howard into the car and their off, they’ll be back at 6. And TOTALLY won’t be home hours early for hyjinks. Totally.  Luna arrives to find a massive binder on feline care. Someone went to the Amy Santiago school of binders. It says to feed the cats at 10 sharp.. and it’s 10:02. Luna tries feeding them but the cats instead attack her in a full on psycotic rage and dump food all over her, so dinners on her. 

Anyways, Luna then tries walking the cats which goes as well as you’d expect.. not because she had to put harneses on cats and expect them to do anything at a certain time, but because they pull hard. I can relate to that with my dog.. not my cat. He just goes wherever he wants because he’s old and kind of an asshole.  Anyways, with the cats now messy from running over a guy with a cake, because of course, Luna looks up what to do next which is.. give.. them a bath. 

Who.. who does that. I know their messy, but use a rag or something. No animal likes being bathed but cats, esepcially one who this episodes shows aren’t declawed (And rightfully so but still), do not LIKE being bathed. Granted they wouldn’t like being cleaned off with a rag or something either, but it still feels less cruel to both them and any prospective babysitter to just hold one down and wipe it off then find the other and repeat. Look witht he walking thing I can see why someone would, in their case because their probably too skittish to let their cats wonder around, and in some cases because said cat is young. But this.. this even for a comedy contrivance is stupid. It’s not the worst uninetional cat abuse i’ve seen in media, Elmyra exists and the mother of the lead of get fuzzy tried putting her cat on a vegetarian diet, which Rob, said lead and a staunch vegetarian himself, not only found concerning but gave said cat the money for takeout.. keep in mind in this strip cats can talk and walk upright. Also I miss when Get Fuzzy was both daily and good. So Luna naturally ends up in the bathtub, soaked and depressed and not sure what to do when her friendly neighborhood sign that the drugs haven’t worn off yet comes by and tells her to shape up if she wants to go to the show with Sam. This gives Luna a great idea. LIke a Zack MOrris great idea it involves breaking the rules.. unlike a Zack Morris idea, it dosen’t involve sexual harassment or a zany scheme. She decides to call Sam, since she’s apparently great with cats and given we saw how she was with chickens last time, not a real stretch. She also pops Mick’s bubble which.. hurts him.. somehow. I dunno.  Anyway cut to Sam arriving. She arrived fast because she was picking a new character up from his gamer’s club meeting: Her brother Simon, who’d been mentioned in side materials but makes his first apperance here. I like him, he has a neat design and i’ts nice to give sam a family life of her own, and he’s a nice if glued to his not-nintendo switch kid. Frankly I hope he and LIncoln meet at some point. I mean he has an opening in his friend group starting next season there’s no way Rusty passes 5th grade. And even if he somehow does, it’s not like adding another member is too much of a stretch given, once they got past courting her, the rest of his group warmly welcomed stella in and it’d be an intresting dynamic having his sister’s girlfriend’s brother in the group. Also if your wondering if i’ll ever stop finding ways to bash rusty in these reviews even when he’s entirely absent..

Anyways, Luna slams the door in the kids face, which he takes in stride , and explains the situation, and after fred fliintstonning him is taken off the table, go with “Sneak him past the cats”. It works because cats never look up at the backs of a gay teenage couple sneaking a small child inside. Luna decides to leave Simon in the entertainment room while she and Sam watch the cats and he finds Clyde’s VR gear and asks to try it on, with Luna reluctantly agreeing as long as he’s careful.. which as far as we see.. yeah he entirely is. The Sharpe’s are good people. 

Cue a montage! Sam helps luna scrub the cats, with brushes as they should’ve done minute one, put them through spa type pampering which is also a call back to the first time we saw the McBride’s house in the series, take selfies, and then sing the cats to sleep, in a really sweet and really well sung lullaby, notable for being the first time Sam’s sung on the show and Allyson Stoner, who I haven’t mentioned but should’ve before this shame on me, does a terrific job and has done a terrific job as Sam in general. Luna thianks her for the help, Sam says no sweat they get to see the show together, and Sam ducks out... before realizing she forgot something. Her wallet... no wait she has that.. OH SHIT HER BROTHER. And before she can get him DOUBLE OH SHIT THE MCBRIDES ARE BACK.  Harold is grumbling about the potato salad... apparenlty Aunt Brenda brought some and wasn’t supposed to. I do like how both McBride dads have their own quirks:While Harold IS the more rational one, he can slip up just like anyone can. Luna prepares to leave.. only to realize oh shit her girlfriend’s brothers in the house still. Her not all complex scheme! She fakes having left something behind to get him out, and once sam calls comes up with a plan: Sneak Simon around back. Sam sneaks around with the bush she ducked into, and we get one of my faviorite tropes: A scooby doo doors sequence! Also the dads speak in unison. Dawww. We also get an adorable bit of Sam gesturing for Luna to hand her the boy. I couldn’t find a gif of it sadly, and I would’ve credited it, but I did find 50 tons of creepy Sam X LIncoln fanart. Just.. why. Why exactly. Why do you do this to me tumblr. And to be clear I have ZERO issue with shipping a character whose sexuality isn’t fully confirmed as just gay in canon with a male character, Bi and Pan representation is important. It’s why I get annoyed at the people who throw a hissy fit any time Della Duck is shipped with Launchpad. Here though I do because it feels like this ship is ENTIRELY a troll, especially since LIncoln has 80 other options, not at all including the icky incest ones, and that I cut and dry have every problem with, and is being done soley to annoy people who ship sam and Luna and are finally enjoying some gay/bi representation on children’s television. If this is a troll then kindly 

Thank you John. So anyways Sam does grab the boy and nearly gets him out the door.. only for the mcbrides to run into their bisexual catsitter shoving a small chubby child out their kitchen window only to have a lesbian fall out into their kitchen. Naturally Howard faints again and Harold is displeased... probably because his husband fainted again.. and you know the shenangians in his kitchen. The only time shenanigans are allowed in that kitchen are when Clyde is sleeping at a friends house for the night and only on the table dammit. They got reinforced oak for a reason.  We cut to the boys playing, which is a nice touch: Clyde being a nice kid dosen’t mind sharing, Simon has similar intrests, and the only time we’ve seen him be eh on sharing is letting Lincoln borrow his new console.. and he not only felt BAD for not wanting him to borrow it and having to try and get it back, but he only did so because the Loud house is insanley chaotic and understandbly he wasn’t sure it’d get back to him safetly. His dad’s rasied him well, he’s a good boy once he got past his ‘Stalking his friends older sister” phase and got into his “anything besides that “ phase.  Luna comes clean to the McBrides and.. Harold appricates the honesty. And both are impressed with how well they took them, with Sam and Luna giving each other credit. So instead of getting upset, especially since Luna was both honest and only called in Sam for help and Simon was an unexpected guest and they both did a fantastic job, they offer to split the money instead. Sam, in a really sweet gesture, then gives Luna her half with no hesitation or prompting from her girlfriend, Luna gives her a cheek smooch and they hug. Then Luna acciently wakes the cats, and we end on the girls singing the cats, Simon and the McBrides all to sleep. Also Luna’s hallucination is alsleep.. those drugs wore off hours ago after all.  Final Thoughts:  A really fantastic setup. Once again the show shows it’s slowly gained talent for taking stock plots (in this case a babysitting episode) and making them actually intresting, mostly by having the characters behave reasonably. While it didn’t really expand Sam’s character, it didn’t really need to , the previous ep with her having fleshed her out as a sweet, kind girl with a talent for animals, and Simon is a wonderful addition to the series massive cast of side characters that , unlike some additions , will hopefully show up again. Seriously half the reason I bitch about Rusty is that the show is great at making charcters, and improving them after a few bumpy episodes as seen with Clyde, Lori and Luann, but yet still uses him and dosen’t make him any funnier, while I can name handfuls of characters who either need more apperances (Girl Jordan) Or haven’t shown up again at all (Carol Pingery, Rocky, Maggie). And that’s not even all of them obviously, but my point stands. But given he’s the brother of one of the main characters girlfriend and would fit in with the main character well, I have a feeling we’ll see simon again at some point.  I also really liked seeing the McBrides, mostly because I haven’t seen many of their episodes, and found them to be delightful, helped by having wonderful va’s behind them as standard for the show and great chemsitry and it was a nice bonus to have the shows two main gay couples interact, without it feeling at all forced, and neither did Sam’s inclusion. And while we haven’t gotten a full on kiss with Sam and Luna, which really they should, CN beat them again on that, the cheek kiss and hug was still very sweet, as is the episode really. It’s funny, heartwarming, and really enjoyable. While itd osen’t have as much emotional weight as the last two eps, I like that it didn’t: For once the conflict was low key but understandable and now Sam and Luna are a full couple, they can just do cute couple shit and get into wacky shenanigans like any other couple on this show without any angst attached. It’s really nice. It also shows that no, a couple being together isn’t boring fuck off will they or won’t they, but i’ve ranted enough about stuff unrelated to this episode. I really liked it and hope to come back to these two someday.  For now as I sign off Pride Month is far from over... as next up I have multiple things planned, but one of the biggest is a FIVE PART series on Red Action and Enid from OK KO. Yes FIVE. All 3 of their romantic eps, and Red’s first two for proper context both for the finale, which uses both episodes as part of the plot, and for a proper view of her character arc and to ease readers into the series better. So be there for that, and a donald duck birthday celebration, and until then, later days! 

[astranne]

ROYAL - Bruce Wayne

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I've never seen a diamond in the flesh 

I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies 

And I'm not proud of my address, in the torn up town

No post code envy

I looked up. My gaze caught every little detail. The beautiful but fake-looking women, the handsome men, smoking expensive cigars and talking about money and their big houses. Houses like the Wayne Manor. I felt the glances of the rich men trying to undress me with their mere eyes. But it didn't really bother me, I always liked the attention of men. I always loved the way how I affected men. But this was different. They had women by their side and fucked me with their eyes.

Slowly, I made my way upstairs. My long, black coat hid my dress. Everyone wore pastel colors, it was the dress code after all. The butler of the family Wayne smiled pleasantly and nodded in my direction.

„Miss Jackson, it's a pleasure to see you at the gala. May I have your coat?"

„Alfred, please, call me Lara. You've known me for many years."

„Indeed, Lara." I smiled and took off my coat. Alfred raised an eyebrow at my dress but didn't say a thing.

„You look like your mother, Lara. She would be very proud of you."

„Thank you, Alfred. But I couldn't have done it without you." He reached his arm to me, I smiled and took it.

„I'm afraid, but Master Bruce wouldn't approve that," he made reference to the dress. It was scandalous. Scandalous red.

„Well Alfred, you should know, I don't care about the opinion of a rich man. I never did."

„I know, dear. I know." Our way led us to the big saloon, full of laughter and rich people. It wasn't my world, it will never be and still, I'm here.

But every song's like gold teeth, 

Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom 

Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room 

We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams 

But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash 

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

I inspected every woman and every man. There were models, actors, politicians, businessmen... rich people. Before I could do my way to a waiter serving the champagne, a young man stopped next to me. Another followed him and flashed a flirtatious smile towards me. Both had black hair, blue eyes and were muscular. They were handsome men. But too young for me.

„Good evening, my lady. You look beautiful." The one with the longer hair took my hand and kissed it.

„I must say, red fits you well, beautiful lady. May I know your name?"

„Lara Jackson. With whom do I have the pleasure?" Before any of them could answer, a little boy stepped between us, he looked like ten, but his hard look didn't belong to a child.

„Grayson, Todd. If I find this woman in anyone's room tonight, I will kill you. We don’t have time for this."

„What do you want, demon spawn?" The child huffed and crossed his arms.

„Father wants to speak with you. Both of you." Both rolled their eyes.

„I'm sorry, beautiful lady. The old man can’t have a fun night. We will see us again." The one with the white streak in his black hair kissed my cheek, the other my hand.

„Idiots. Please forgive my brothers, they don't have any respect for a good looking lady."

„It's okay. And thank you."

„You're familiar", he noticed. I just raised an eyebrow. This child was odd. Just like his father.

„Well, I know your father, Damian." His head shoots up and he frowned.

„How do you know me? Or him?"

„It was many years ago, but your father and I had a great friendship. One day he went missing and the day he came back, he wasn't the same anymore. Still, I stayed in contact with Alfred, he was a great friend and like a father to me."

„Why did my father abandon you?"

„I'm not rich." He looked confused but didn’t say anything.

„He never said something about you. Why not?"

„Again Damian. I'm not rich. I will never be like these models or actresses. I'm just a simple girl, that lived alone with her mother. It was a coincidence, that your father and I met."

And we'll never be royals 

It don't run in our blood 

That kind of lux just ain't for us 

We crave a different kind of buzz

„Then why are you here, Jackson?"

„I wanted to see Alfred. I wanted to see the house since it was my second home. And for the last time, I wanted to feel the atmosphere at a gala."

„It sounds like a goodbye. Why? What did my father do that you are such full of hate?" I looked surprised at him.

„How?", I just asked.

„I know that look. You don't hate my father, you hate that rich life, you hate his behavior. I'm also like this. I hate my mother, well, if you can call her a mother. And I hate my stupid brothers, who get more attention from my father then I do. I know they spend more time with him and know him better, but it’s..."

„Frustrating", I finished his sentence.

„I like you." I smiled and sipped at my champagne.

„Well Damian, I like you too."

„More than your brothers." He smiled smugly and I snorted silently.

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen B 

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule) 

Let me live that fantasy

„If you see them, could you clarify for me, that I'm definitely not interested? They are too young. Goodlooking, but too young."

„With pleasure, Lara."

I stayed the whole evening with Damian. He was a cute child, but he would never allow anyone to say that out loud. And he looked like his father. Well, almost. His eyes were green, they must be from his mother. But I didn't ask since he made clear, that his mother was a forbidden topic.

After that evening, I spent the night with Oliver Queen. We were both drunk and afterward, I found out that he had a girlfriend. So I did the one most logical thing, I ran away and swore, I will never be just a woman for a night. These times are now past, I want to be someone special, someone, that my mother can be proud of. So I began to search for my father. I never knew or saw him. But I wanted to find him.

My friends and I we've cracked the code 

We count our dollars on the train to the party 

And everyone who knows us knows that we're fine with this 

We didn't come from money

After months of searching and traveling around the world, I found him. Well, he found me. He didn't know he had a daughter. My mother never told him about me. But he didn't abandon me like other people. He gave me a new home, a new task. He gave me a new family. I began to train, train to defend myself, train to defend others, train to kill. Especially rich people who were assholes. I just followed my father's footsteps. You may ask now, who my father is. Im a Wilson now. My father is called Slade Wilson but feared as Deathstroke.

I was educated by the League of the Shadows also called the League of Assassins. Ra's al Guhl himself trained me and let me fight against his daughter, who is the mother of Damian. Talia al Guhl, or whatever they call her. I hate her. I hate her for manipulating Bruce and abandon her son. I hate her for her behavior, I just hate her presence. And everybody knows that. Because I almost killed her. Well, I killed her, but she was brought back with the Lazarus Pit. My father was really proud of me since nobody can stand her. I mean, she is a fucking bitch, she betrayed the League just for a son of Batman. And did so many other awful things. But that's not my problem anymore. Ra's send me to protect his grandson, the heritage of the League. The fact, Damian liked me, made my job so much easier. But I had no idea, how to become one of the Wayne family members. So we built a plan. My father as Deathstroke, would try to kill Robin and Batman, and I would save them both. After all the planning, it worked perfectly.

„Who are you?"

„Your pseud, deep voice doesnt scare me, Batman. You've just could thank me."

„Lara?"

„Hello, Damian. Its nice to see you again"

„I thought you would never come back to Gotham." I fake sighed and crossed my arms.

„Well... I was all around the world. I met your mother and I must say, she is a bitch. Sadly she survived our meeting." Batman huffed.

„And how did you know about the whole hero thing?"

„Talia is a really shitty secret keeper. She told me all about it, in the hope, I would show some mercy. Its nice to see you, Bruce."

„Who are you?"

„Its a shame, you dont recognize me, Brucie." I took my black hood off, also my mask, that hid the lower half of my face. I could feel the confusion of my childhood crush.

„Lara Jackson?"

„What a welcome." I was surprised after he hugged me. Awkwardly, I tapped his back.

„Im so sorry." That was easier than I thought.

„It’s okay, Brucie. It’s okay." Damian coughed and crossed his arms.

„Umm... can I have a bed for tonight?", I asked silently.

„You can have a bed as long as you want, Lara."

„Thank you, Bruce."

„Lets go home." He jumped off the roof, Damian followed him. I turned around and saw my father in the shadows. With a smirk, I followed the Waynes.

But every song's like gold teeth, 

Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom 

Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room 

We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams 

But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash 

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

I was now a month at Wayne Manor. Bruce acted a little bit strange but I didn't mind. But what I minded was his big family. He has five sons and two daughters and other family members. They didn't trust me. Richard and Jason always flirted with me, the other women in the house hated me for that. Until one day.

„Hey, beautiful. What are you doin’?" I just rose an eyebrow, a move I would do every day.

„Do you have eyes, Jason?"

„Yes, why?"

„Well, then you can see, I’m reading." He sat aside me and wiggled his eyebrows.

„Mind, if I take this book and we do something?" I tried to ignore him.

„Darlin', I know you would take me. Don't act so heartless even though its hot as fuck." And then I had enough.

„Okay, listen, Jason. I'm not interested to fuck you or Richard. I'm so much older than you, I could be your fucking mother! And if you don't stop, I’m gonna kick your fucking ass so hard, that the pit wont help you come back to life! So shut the fuck up and just let me live my fucking life! Without you or Richard or any playboy." He just blinked.

„How old are you?", he asked bluntly. I slapped him with the book. Jason yelled and ran away from the couch.

„Jason Peter Todd! Come back, you fucking asshole! I'm going to fucking killing you, you dipshit! You don't ask a woman about her age! COME BACK!" I ran after him, passing next to Richard and Tim.

„Jason!", I yelled. „Come back, you motherfucking bastard!" He sprinted downwards, trying to escape. With the speed I had gained, I jumped down and rolled off.

„What the fuck! That woman! Help! Anyone!"

„Shut up!" I tackled him down and began to punch him. Blood spattered out of his nose, ruining the expensive carpet.

„What the fuck?! Lara? Jason?" Dick tried to separate us but he also collected a punch in his nose.

„Don't touch me, you pervert!" Jason managed to escape out of my hold and we began to fight, Richard joined, after I kicked him in his stomach.

„Bruce? Alfred? Anyone? Lara is going crazy!", Tim shouted. He was smart enough to stay out of our fight. I swiped the blood out of my face, not knowing to whom it belonged.

„Still imagining how to fuck me?" Both men grunted, trying to punch me, which I easily caught. My hands gripped Richard's shoulders and I let his nose met my head. He groaned and held his nose, trying to kick me.

„Enough!" I heard Bruce's voice and stepped a little back. Jason didn't stop and punched right in my jaw. I growled and rushed forward, my legs slung around his neck, and threw him on the ground.

„Lara! Enough!" It took Bruce, Tim, and Alfred to keep me away from the second oldest.

And we'll never be royals It don't run in our blood That kind of lux just ain't for us We crave a different kind of buzz

Bruce himself stitched me up, doesn't allow anyone to come too near towards me. He forbid everyone, even Alfred, to come to the Batcave.

„Why?", he just asked. I huffed and crossed my arms.

„Why? Both were flirting with me! Its disgusting! I could be their fucking mother!"

„They are kids, Lara", he sighed and sat across me. I rolled my eyes.

„Kids don’t fight the Joker, Bruce." It was silent, we just sat there.

„Why are you like this?"

„What do you mean?" I frowned.

„You're cold. Towards me. I have the feeling, you only like Alfred and Damian", he almost whispered. I swallowed and tried to avoid his gaze.

„Bruce, I...I had a hard childhood. I just had my mother and you. You were my best friend, my first love. And when my mother passed, I was alone. I know, you were there for me, but not like the way I wanted. I changed Bruce, I'm not the glamorous girl anymore."

„Why you didn't say anything?"

„You were Bruce Wayne, the son of millionaires, the heritage of Wayne Enterprises. I was madly in love with you, I never said something because I was so scared. Scared, that you wouldnt love me back, scared you would see me just like as a friend. So I started to date other boys, boys who gave me attention in a way, who filled the gap my mother left. It was like a drug. I loved the way I affected every man. They gave me love, physically." At the end of my speech, I'd met Bruces eyes. They were soft and full of love.

„Im so sorry, Lara. I never- If I ever would know that...Do you remember your first boyfriend?" He didn't wait for an answer.

„I was so jealous and I saw you at his side it made me clear, you weren't the little girl anymore, who I met at my parents funeral. In my eyes, you were a grown, beautiful and independent woman. That day I realized, I loved you from the first day and still do." My eyes grew big. How?

„You still love me?", I whispered.

„I do." I almost melted at these words. My fucking childhood crush, my first love, loves me. He smiled and leaned towards me. Our noses touched, my eyes fluttered. He stopped, obviously waiting for me. I sighed when our lips finally met. We kissed slowly, without any tongue. It was a romantic kiss, heck, he would top every Hollywood movie. We parted, his lips brushed against mine. Bruce cupped my face with his hands and kissed me again. Roughly. A light moan escaped my lips, my hands tugged his black hair. He groaned deeply and heat rushed downwards all around my body. His arms pulled me nearer to him. Slowly, while kissing him, I climbed on his lap. But before it could go any farther, Alfred cleared his throat. I blushed and tried to hide my face in Bruce's neck while he just chuckled.

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen B 

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule)

Let me live that fantasy

Everything was perfect. As perfect as it could be in such a chaotic family. Since I beat up Jason and Richard, everyone tries to not piss me off. I warmed up to the girls and also Tim. Everything was perfect until Talia showed up. She and some traitors of the league managed to break into the Manor and tied the whole Wayne Family up.

„Hello, Lara. Its nice to see you again." A mad smile graced her face. I didn't respond and gripped the handle of my sword harder.

„Why are you here, Talia?"

„Oh I don’t know, maybe to kill you?" I rolled my eyes.

„Besides that." She grinned widely at me.

„I want my son back."

„No." She frowned, the Waynes behind me began to protest.

„No? Who do you think you are? I’m the mother of him!"

„Well, I don't care who you are Talia. You're a traitor and I don't listen to traitors."

„Wilson", she growled.

„Al Guhl."

„My son."

„No."

„I want my son! And I will kill you to get him!"

„Try me, bitch. I killed you once and I will do it again."

„Why are you here?", she asked out of nowhere.

„Classified."

„Really, Wilson?"

„Why is mother naming her Wilson?", whispered Damian to his father. Before Bruce could answer, Talia rushed with a war cry forward raising her sword. I easily dodged, spinning around and kicking her in her stomach.

„You have a deathwish, Al Guhl. Stop it and I will let you go."

„Never, Wilson", she spat and rammed her sword in my leg. I gritted my teeth but fought on. I felt, how my wound slowly stopped bleeding until it closed completely. But the pain was still there.

„How-?", she stuttered.

„You should've known, dear Talia. The reason, why Im a better fighter than you, the reason, why I could kill you. All because of my fathers powers."

„Your father has powers? But he is no metahuman."

„Who said he is a mutant? He's an experiment, he's an improved human. So am I."

„That's why you could learn so fast to fight", she realized.

„Yes. And now, get out of here, or I kill you and your friends."

We're bigger than we ever dreamed, and I'm in love with being queen (Ooh ooh oh) 

Life is great without a care 

We aren't caught up in your love affair

„Who is your father, Lara?" I sighed at Damian's question.

„Does it really matter right now?"

„Hell yes it does!", shouted Jason. „I want some awesome powers too!" I rolled my eyes.

„I never knew my father, Bruce knows that. And my mother never told him, that she was pregnant. After I met Damian, I began to search for my father. Without any results. Then, he found me. He's a member of the league of the assassins, so he brought me there and I was trained."

„You didn't answer Damians question”, Bruce noticed. I sighed again and shouldered my backpack.

„Because I knew, you all wouldn't like it. Damian, your grandfather send me to protect you. My job is done, I will go back to Nanda Parbat."

„What?"

„No!", they cried out.

„Why? I thought you-", I interrupted Bruce.

„Bruce, I love you. I really do. But I know, when you learn, who my father is, you will abandon me. So I better go by myself."

„Wait, what? Are you and Bruce a thing?" Jason's eyes switched between us.

„We were."

And we'll never be royals 

It don't run in our blood 

That kind of lux just ain't for us 

We crave a different kind of buzz 

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen B 

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule) 

---

Masterlist

This was my first oneshot in english, I hope you like it. You can also find it on Wattpad, there I have the same username like on Tumblr. 

I’m aware, that not everything I wrote matches with the personalities of the batfam, I have more knowledge of the MCU and MARVEL. And if something is wrong with my english (my first language is german) please tell me. :) 

[dajoezenone]

TEXT REVIEW OF INFINITY WAR

UNFOLLOW ME IF YOU DONT WANT TO READ THESE SPOILERS I DONT USE THIS ACCOUNT SEE IF I CARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Seriously this is gonna have spoilers go away if you dont wanna see. 

I liked it. Kinda want to see it again and may change my mind on stuff at a later date but I want to get these thoughts out while they’re in my mind. 

1. STORY STRUCTURE:  The structure of this film is weird? But not really. It makes sense once you realize Thanos is the main character. Act One we’re being introduced to all the different heroes, which is done masterfully and paced really well so we never feel overwhelmed despite the sheer size of the cast. Act Two starts once Gamora tells Star Lord he may have to kill her, and then Thanos is re-introduced. I’ll come back to this later but I dislike that there’s a good couple scenes where its just GotG characters interacting with each other with no Avengers around. Like this is an Avengers movie. Couldn’t SOME Avengers character have been around for this Like this is a crossover why are these characters still with just their regular crew? Anyways from then on Thanos’s POV takes center stage. Once Gamora is dead Thanos, like Thor, has nothing he really cares about left to lose. He’s at his lowest, despite also being 2 stones away from infinite power. Act Three begins with him this way, recalling to Doctor Strange his origin, and reasserting his resolve to go through with this. He beats both of the split forces of the Avengers, one on Titan, and the other in Wakanda, and despite nearly being beaten three different times, he manages to snap his fingers. We see the results of the world he’s created, while he sits back and watches the sunset. 

I like that they decided to let Thanos win and kill half the universe. I know it’ll traumatize a lot of kids watching the movie, but like, these things are rated PG 13. There have been sex references and character deaths and such in these for a long long time. Its the big bad final battle for the Avengers and they needed a cliff to hang on and so they hung people. I dont believe the people turned to ash will stay dead, but I didn’t expect a happy ending either. PLUS this gives us time to really focus on the characters that need more room to finish their arcs in the real finale. 

I like the way the movie is structured. It doesn’t feel overcrowded and it makes a lot of sense when you realize its Thanos’s movie not any of the heroes’. And it helps make Thanos the most developed bad guy in any MCU film. SPEAKING OF WHICH. 

2. CHARACTERS: (the long one)

-THANOS: The best bad guy in any MCU film. Not my FAVORITE bad guy in an MCU film though. Loki still holds that title, and if we’re counting the Netflix shows, Fisk and Kilgrave are still PRETTY dope. Thanos is WONDERFUL. But I neither love him or love to hate him. I appreciate what was done with him though. He earns his place as the biggest threat in this universe, despite a lack of real competition. You feel his struggle, even though you really want him to fail. Its really well done. Cant help but wonder why no mention of his love for Lady Death though? I at least expected Hela to show up and be like “SURPRISE IM LADY DEATH” or something idk. We never saw her die in Ragnarok. Is that really not something they’re gonna at least do something off of? 

-THOR: despite spending MOST of the movie on what is basically a side quest, he’s the hero who gets the most development. I figured that the way Ragnarok was handled was done specifically to set this up and I got what I expected to fall out from that and then some. I love his arc in this. I love his conversations with Rocket and I love how powerful he is now. He’s just really well handled and I love how he’s developed as a character. Also, side note, I like that each Avengers movie changes which of its members gets the most development. Cap was the one who was still finding his place and going through an arc in the first one, Tony is dealing with paranoia and being the one to create Ultron in AoU, and Thor is still dealing with the death of his people here. 

-TONY: I have less to say here. I hate nanite tech being used in pretty much anything. idk why it just bothers me. It always feels dumb. but it was fine here actually. I love his conflict with Strange and Peter and the other Peter. I love that he has to deal with watching everyone else die. The whole movie plays on your expectation that Tony is going to die in the end and then COMPLETELY subverts that and I love it. 

-DOCTOR STRANGE: Great. Comes off a little more of a jerk than he does in his own film but we also mainly see him through the eyes of Tony, so I think thats why. I love his magic and how smart and calculated he is in combat compared to the other characters. The Russos are VERY aware and very good at showing the characters’ character traits via how they fight which is good considering how much action there is in this movie. 

-SPIDER-MAN: I swear he’s more competent here than in his own movie. Also we see SPIDEY SENSE GO OFF which we NEVER SEE HAPPEN IN HIS OWN MOVIE. He still doesn’t REALLY feel like Peter Parker though which is weird bc he almost did by the end of Homecoming and now here he just kinda reverted back out of that.

-GAMORA: Really great. Somewhere in between Guardians 1 and now she stopped being every single one of Zoe Saldana’s characters in anything ever to being a pretty fleshed out character. Though its kinda weird that Thanos’s other children in this movie are so much more loyal to him than her and Nebula are? Like whats up with them? Why is Gamora the favorite when she openly hates him? 

-STAR-LORD: Great. Not much else to say. 

-ROCKET AND GROOT: ALSO great. They’re especially great as sidekicks to Thor. They have some great exchanges, even if their screentime was primarily spent on a side quest. I nearly squealed when Groot used his arm to create the Stormbreaker Axe. I’m annoyed Groot died again at the end. WE’VE SEEN ROCKET MOURN GROOT’S DEATH BEFORE THIS ISN’T INTERESTING OR NEW.

-DRAX AND MANTIS: pretty good. I like them both. If anything there’s probably too much of them. I love them so I cant complain too much but like idk I feel like we saw more of these Guardians side characters than some of the Avengers main characters in an Avengers movie. 

-WANDA AND VISION: Wanda has always been one of my fav characters in the MCU and that doesn’t change here. Her romance with Vis is great. Honestly I love her whole arc and I love how its foreshadowed by Gamora telling Quill to kill her earlier in the film. Wanda having to lose the closest person to her AGAIN is emotional and sad and everything and idk Elizabeth and Paul give great performances and both do a great job playing some good characters. Vis is basically a damsel in distress the whole film, which seems disingenuous because he’s like the most powerful avenger prior to Thor’s buff over these last couple movies. But I guess it makes sense in context. They’re not GREAT but like I said I like them so I’m biased. 

-CAP, FALCON, AND NAT: Kinda useless tbh. They dont do much. They dont even have many lines. Like they fight in the Wakanda battle. Thats it. They’re tired and grumpy because they’ve been on the run for TWO YEARS. Something we dont see at all. Not that thats what I want to see, but... they’re basically just there to shuttle Wanda and Vision to Wakanda and then fight a bit. 

-T’CHALLA, OKOYE, SHURI, AND M’BAKU: Even quieter and less notable than the Cap crew. Which really cheapens how much of the film takes place in Wakanda. Like, why does the Cosmic stuff feel authentic to what James Gunn built in the Guardians movies, while this stuff feels so underwritten and underrepresented? We have four Wakandan characters here and they do so hecking little. AND THEN T’CHALLA IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WE SEE TURN TO ASH. WHAT? WE ALREADY GOT A FAKE OUT DEATH WITH HIM IN HIS OWN MOVIE. I HATED IT THERE. WE GOTTA SEE HIS FAMILY DEAL WITH HIM BEING DEAD AGAIN??? Shuri better become black panther in avengers 4 man. thats the only way I’ll be ok with him dying a SeCONd TiME. 

-BUCKY, RHODEY, NICK FURY, MARIA HILL, LOKI, RED SKULL AND HEIMDALL: all play really small parts but manage to do their jobs and be really notable anyways. Shoutouts to them. 

-BRUCE BANNER: meh. Bruce has finally kind of accepted the Hulk but Hulk is scared of Thanos so he wont come out. So Bruce spends the whole movie in his head having conflict with himself and not really engaging with whats going on? Kind of a dumb choice imo like if CAP is a minor character whos mainly there to banter with other people so should Banner. We dont even really see him interact with Ross or Rhodes once he gets back to Avengers HQ. dumb but not a big deal. 

3. SMALL DETAILS:

-Music was weirdly lacking from a lot of the movie. Like it feels like Silvestri only orchestrated like half of the film. So much of it is just left.. quiet. Empty. This is INFINITY WAR. IT SHOULD BE ALL ABOUT THE SPECTACLE. 

-Are Valkyrie, Korg and Miek still alive? We dont see them at all on the Asgardian ship? 

-What happened to Sean Gunn’s character? Also wasn’t Nebula still with the Guardians at the end of Vol 2? Did I miss something or...?

-How did Thor know to go to Wakanda? He should have been going to Titan to meet up with Quill, right? 

-How does the Bifrost work if the Bifrost is broken? That was a big thing in Thor 1 wasn’t he? 

-They didn’t get Hugo Weaving back to play Red Skull but thats fine I still geeked out when he showed up. 

-Peter Dinklage was good but he was in the movie too long. Thor’s stuff really felt side questy even though its the best stuff in the film. 

I think thats about everything it was good but not GREAT k bye

[orbemnews]

Michael Collins’ candid Apollo 11 Moon landing admission: ‘Don't want it over my head' Apollo 11: Michael Collins reveals in 2019 why he went to space The legendary astronaut passed away peacefully yesterday, aged 90, following a “valiant battle with cancer”. He played a pivotal role in the first manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 11, in 1969. Collins, who dubbed himself “the loneliest man in the universe” stayed in lunar orbit for 21 hours alone as his colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface. But in an interview with NPR 50 years on, Collins said he was not resentful for missing out on the chance to walk on the extraterrestrial body. Asked if he would have liked the opportunity, he said in 2019: “Absolutely, yes, but am I dissatisfied with the part that I played? Absolutely not. “I had it both ways really. “Sometimes I’ll be walking down, shuffling down the sidewalk after dark and all of a sudden I’ll look up and go ‘woah – I went there one time’. Michael Collins candidly reflected on his role (Image: GETTY) Collins dubbed himself ‘the loneliest man in the universe’ (Image: GETTY) “It takes me by surprise.” Despite this, the former test pilot said the entire experience changed his perspective on Earth, and life as we know it. He added: “I usually get asked what the Moon looked like up close and that’s an interesting question with a lot of good answers, but to me, even though I was sitting on its front doorstep, it was nothing compared to Earth. “The Earth was the whole show, even though it was only the size of your thumbnail, you could move your thumb out of the way, but it kept inching its way back into your presence as if it wanted to be looked at and seen. “The first thing is that it was just tiny, tiny against the black velvet background that makes it look more prominent, it’s just a glorious thing, you could sit and watch it all day long. READ MORE: Moon landing: Apollo 11 legend Michael Collins ‘doesn’t want’ NASA to make lunar return The astronaut passed away, aged 90 (Image: GETTY) “I could have spent day after day looking at the tiny little Earth.” In a touching moment, Collins explained why he wanted space agencies like NASA to press on and explore more of the cosmos. He continued: “When someone asks me why we should go into space, I desert the world of facts and figures and come down to the world of emotions. “When I was a kid, I used to lay on my back on the grass at night and see what I could see – most of it I couldn’t understand – that made it all the more intriguing. “But to have all that around me, I guess I could say I don’t want to live with the lid over my head. DON’T MISSBlack hole shock: Scientist’s dire warning to humans [VIDEO]Asteroid apocalypse: Scientist warns of ‘city-destroying’ space rock [OPINION]Why ‘Trillion tonne rock hurtling towards Earth’ was ‘bad news’ [EXPLAINED] The Apollo 11 crew in 1969 (Image: GETTY) “I want to have that lid removed and have the possibilities that live there in that third dimension – that we have the possibility of visiting – explored. “That’s why we should go into space.” Aldrin, 91, is now the only surviving member of the mission after Armstrong passed away in 2012. Paying tribute to his colleague, Aldrin wrote in a tweet: “Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the fire to carry us deftly to new heights and to the future. “We will miss you. May you Rest In Peace.” The Collins family remembered the hero, too. Apollo 11 Moon landing timeline (Image: GETTY/DX) Their statement read: “Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, the same way”. “We will miss him terribly. Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did. “We will honour his wish for us to celebrate, not mourn, that life.” On 16 July 1969, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were strapped into their Apollo spacecraft on top of the vast Saturn V rocket and were propelled into orbit in just over 11 minutes. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin touched down at Tranquility Base. Armstrong stepped off the lunar lander and delivered his “one small step” speech before Aldrin joined him 20 minutes later and helped bury the US flag into the surface. The crew splashed down in the Pacific (Image: GETTY) As a trio, they brought an end to the Space Race – a bitter chapter in the Cold War that would propel the US and Soviet Union to new technological heights. Collins would later admit they “felt the weight of the world on their shoulders,” adding that there would be “international repercussions” if he returned to Earth without Aldrin and Armstrong. He stated: “I was going to come home and I would not have been a happy returnee, I’d be a marked man for the rest of my life.” But they did make it back, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 – precisely 195 hours and 18 minutes after blasting off from Florida. The astronauts would then embark on a 38-day world tour that saw them treated like royalty in 22 foreign countries. But Collins would later admit he never really enjoyed the spotlight. Speaking in 2009, he said: “Some things about current society irritate me, such as the adulation of celebrities and the inflation of heroism. “Heroes abound, and should be revered as such, but don’t count astronauts among them. “We work very hard, we did our jobs to near perfection, but that was what we had hired on to do. “In no way did we meet the criterion of the Congressional Medal of Honour: ‘above and beyond the call of duty.’ “Celebrities? What nonsense, what an empty concept for a person to be, as my friend the great historian Daniel Boorstin put it, ‘known for his well-known-ness.’” if(typeof utag_data.ads.fb_pixel!=="undefined"&&utag_data.ads.fb_pixel==!0)!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');fbq('init','568781449942811');fbq('track','PageView') Source link Orbem News #admission #Apollo #candid #Collins #Dont #landing #MICHAEL #Moon

[sinrau]

Kenny Overstreet scrounges every penny—and even sells the eggs his chickens lay—to make ends meet after Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) furloughed him and hundreds of other workers at its Jackson, Alabama, site.

Before the COVID-19 recession struck, the 61-year-old saved a little whenever he could for the retirement he planned to take in a couple of years.

But now, he scrimps to pay monthly bills and prays PCA calls him back to work before he blows through the nest egg he spent decades building.

Millions of unemployed workers need strong, rational leadership to guide them through these perilous times. But instead of a sage and ardent champion in the White House, they’re stuck with a president whose incompetence fueled the pandemic’s spread and hastened the economy’s collapse.

Donald Trump downplayed the coronavirus until it overwhelmed the country, failed to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to front-line workers and blustered as unemployment soared to the highest level since the Great Depression.

But it wasn’t enough for Trump to spectacularly fail at his job.

Trump tried to use the turmoil as cover for stealing Americans’ Social Security benefits and consigning millions of workers to retirements of grinding poverty.

What he called a stimulus program is really one of his biggest cons. He proposed deferring payroll taxes and eventually eliminating them under the guise of leaving a little more money in Americans’ paychecks.

Not only would that have provided no help to millions of unemployed workers like Overstreet, who don’t have paychecks right now, but payroll taxes are what the nation uses to fund Social Security and Medicare. Cutting them would advance the Republicans’ long-sought goal of eliminating the retirement safety net, forcing tens of millions of elderly and disabled retirees to scratch out a living on their own.

Workers love Social Security. Most happily pay into the system, considering it an investment in their future and that of their fellow Americans. Yet Republicans illogically denounce Social Security and Medicare as giveaways and repeatedly try to kill them.

That infuriates Overstreet, a member of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9-361, who regards Social Security as a vital and hard-earned part of his retirement.

“We pay into Social Security for years,” observed Overstreet, who has sweated out a living in roiling hot paper mills for nearly three decades. “It’s not an entitlement, the way I see it. We bought it.”

After the nation caught on to his snake oil salesman’s scheme, Trump renounced it.

But while he played politics with Americans’ futures, Trump frittered away an opportunity to provide real, immediate help to 30 million unemployed workers —including Overstreet—who lost their livelihoods through no fault of their own.

For months, these workers survived because of federal unemployment benefits provided through a stimulus program Congress passed in March.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other anti-worker Senate Republicans refused to extend the $600-a-week payments, letting them lapse in July.

An effective, compassionate president would have used his clout to preserve assistance that workers need while the COVID-19 death toll keeps climbing and the economy continues to struggle.

But desperate Americans can expect no help from a bungling impostor like Trump. Instead of fighting for the people who needed him most, Trump let them lose the only lifeline many of them had.

“If he was to tell McConnell to get something done, it would happen,” insisted Overstreet, citing the senator’s habitual groveling to Trump. “I believe that. I believe McConnell would walk off a cliff if he told him to.”

While Trump turned his back on unemployed workers, he’s been only too happy to loot the treasury on behalf of rich people and corporations. The March stimulus package, for example, handed billions to companies that failed to save jobs and contained a “ millionaires’ giveaway ” enabling 43,000 of the wealthiest Americans to claim average tax breaks of $1.6 million this year alone.

Trump’s apathy and ineptitude have dire consequences for the people of Jackson, a community of several thousand where PCA is the most important employer.

Without federal assistance, unemployed workers must rely on $275 in weekly benefits provided by the state of Alabama. And that isn’t enough to cover basic expenses, like food and utilities.

“You can’t make it without really looking at your finances and selling off the things that aren’t necessities,” said Local 9-361 President Luke Lankford. “You have to re-evaluate your whole life.”

Lankford and some of his co-workers began traveling to other cities for non-union construction jobs lacking the decent pay, good benefits and dignified working conditions that the USW ensures members receive from PCA and other employers.

Overstreet decided he needed to stay close to home, even though job opportunities there are virtually nonexistent. His wife, Sheila, has health problems, and the couple help support a daughter and two grandchildren who live with them.

The family eats some of the eggs their chickens produce and sells others, raising enough money to help offset the cost of feeding the birds. Overstreet conserved more money by delaying the roof he planned to put on an outbuilding.

“Every little bit counts,” he said.

It didn’t have to be this way.

Three months ago, the Democratic-controlled House passed a bill to extend federal unemployment benefits through January 31, 2021, a measure intended to prevent the very interruption in payments now wreaking havoc on millions of households.

The House bill, called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, also allocates a second round of stimulus checks, protects millions of cash-strapped renters from eviction, and provides billions in aid to local governments struggling with COVID-19 budget shortfalls.

The HEROES Act isn’t perfect. For example, a provision allowing corporations to more easily stop their payments to troubled multiemployer pension plans will have to be stricken from the final version.

Trump could have championed the bill’s many sensible provisions and forced them through the Senate to ensure Americans meet their most basic needs during health and economic crises that might still get worse.

But he turned a blind eye when McConnell called the HEROES Act too generous to struggling Americans and refused to vote on it.

Republicans claim Americans eligible for extended unemployment benefits will want to stay home instead of returning to work or finding new jobs.

But that’s ridiculous. The workers at PCA, for example, want to return to their jobs as soon as possible. Overstreet thinks of young co-workers juggling babies, car loans and mortgages, and he says, “I know they’re hurting.”

Before the pandemic, Overstreet thought about taking early retirement.

Now, he says, much will depend on the next election. If Trump gets another four years, he may keep working for fear America’s grifter-in-chief will try to swindle Americans out of their Social Security, Medicare or other necessities yet again.

“I don’t trust him,” Overstreet said.

Tom Conway is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW).

This article was produced by the Independent Media Institute.

‘I don’t trust him’: How Trump abandoned workers when they needed him the most #web #website #copied #toread #highlight #link #news #read #blog #wordpresspost #posts #breaking news# #Sinrau #Nothiah #Sinrau29 #read #wordpress

[idosurveystovent]

8.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Have you ever stayed in a strangers house before? If yes, why? ummmm...I have stayed in a shit ton of hotels, but idk about a total strangers house

Pinocchio: What’s the biggest lie you’ve told that no one knows about? I mean, I don’t know of any major lies that I have told that I haven’t been already busted out on so I don’t guess I have one

Dumbo: Have you ever been to a circus or fair? yes.

Cinderella: Do you have any family members who you really don’t get along with? ehhhhh...not really. I try to get along with everyone (it was fucking tough. I am the most petty person I know) but my parents divorced recently after 35 years so yeah. it was interesting

Peter Pan: If you stopped aging right now, what could you do for the rest of your life? Would you want to stop aging? if my time froze right now where I am, I would just rather get old and die. I am fucking miserable with where I am in life right now, so it would suck to be stuck here

Sleeping Beauty: What’s the last dream you remember having? I don’t remember my dreams

One Hundred and One Dalmatians: How many pets do you have, what are they, and what are their names? i have a kitten named Bagheera, a pit bull/chow mix named Tank, and I am babysitting a Shihtzu named toby for my mom

Robin Hood: Do you believe in the idea of taking from the rich and giving to the poor? Why or why not? Idk

The Fox and the Hound: Who is your best friend?  Seth, my fiancé

The Little Mermaid: If you could have anything you wanted in exchange for one of your talents, which talent would you give up and what would you give it up for? I don’t have any talents...sooo

Beauty and the Beast: What is your favorite book/book series? 50 shades of gray

Aladdin: Could you give up your happiness for someone else’s? it depends on the person 

Nightmare Before Christmas: If you could reinvent a holiday, which one would you remake and how? I have no idea. I'm not really feeling creative

The Lion King: Have you ever lost someone important to you? yes.

A Goofy Movie: What was your favorite family vacation and why? its a close race between Colorado which was awesome for so many different reasons but the biggest reasons were 1. Recreational weed and 2. its just abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous out there. Then the myrtle beach trip was just awesome because it was the first time on a big vacation that I didn’t have my parents with me. we brought my fiance’ s mother, but she is literally more immature than most early teenagers and she is a horrible drinker, so it was more like we were having to babysit the whole time

Pocahontas: What do you think it means to sing with all the voices of the mountains and paint with all the colors of the wind? I just know its a Pocahontas song

Toy Story: If your toys came to life, what things could they hold over you and blackmail you with? i don’t have any toys in my room.

Hercules: If you were a god or goddess, what would your powers include? invisibility or telepathy

Mulan: What are your opinions on gendered products? I'm really not concerned with it

Tarzan: Do you believe that animals are capable of “human” emotion? to some degree

The Emperor’s New Groove: Have you ever changed your views because you were in the wrong? ehhhh....I don’t really have views or feelings on things like a lot of people do. but there are some things that I think a certain way about and seth can explain things in different ways to make me understand different sides of things

Atlantis: What are you passionate about? when I got further into my depression, I lost my passion for pretty much everything I did in life, or anything I used to enjoy doing. I dont’ really have a passion

Monsters Inc: Did you believe there were monsters in your closet when you were a kid? nope.

Lilo and Stitch: What is your relationship with your sibling’s like? If you don’t have any, would you rather have an older or younger sibling and why? we don’t talk much at all. we live about 15 minutes away from each other. I try to stay distant from my family anyways

Finding Nemo: Do you think parents should allow their children freedom after a certain age? yes, of course. That age is 18, duh

Brother Bear: If you could become any animal, which would you choose? a dog I guess

Meet the Robinsons: Who do you consider “family?” my fiancé seth and my daughter makena

Tinkerbell: Have you ever tried to be someone you’re not for the sake of fitting in?  sure

Bolt: How far would you go for someone you cared about? all the way?

The Princess and the Frog: If you dug a little deeper, what would be your ultimate goal in life, provided income wasn’t an issue? I have never thought about shit like that because I always knew that I was going to be a big fat zero in life. lol. 

Tangled: Could you sacrifice yourself for someone you barely knew? i’m not sure

Wreck-It Ralph: What’s your favorite video game? Mario of course, fable 3, diablo, destiny......

Frozen: Do you believe in love at first sight? nope.

Big Hero Six: If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why? idk...what kind of people have actually put thought into these kind of questions?

Inside Out: Which of your emotions do you think controls your brain most often? anxiety.<<<<<<<amen...but when the anxiety isn’t hitting me too hard, I can always count on depression to be there to back it up

Zootopia: Have you ever experienced discrimination first-hand? lol I am a middle class white woman...no....I haven’t