#this is a reference to not only the benefactors but mag

[notreyev]

peter nureyev loves self-sabotaging by following a plan that has no guarantee of success because he “has to” or “owes it.” you didn’t have to do all that, ever

[twitchesandstitches]

I have an idea for two new factions to play parts as antagonists, but I need suggestions since I’m sort of operating a bit outside my usual series and I don’t want them to become like super over-saturated with just a few specific series.

Opening up suggestions for characters for two other factions, and I really would appreciate it if you send in suggestions ASAP!

First group is the Ringers, a warlike faction that’s intended to be a lot more morally darker than the Cobalts and serve as ideological opponents to the fleet, though they have some ulterior motives that make what they do reasonable, if not sympathetic at all. Their goal is to plunge the multiverse into endless war and conflict, in a fashion similar to Talon from Overwatch; they believe that warfare and conflict force people to evolve and become better people, and also seem to know something about an upcoming disaster or terrible shift in the multiverse that will make it necessary for people to be hardened in order to survive it.

Their overall themes include: Conflict Is Good, War as desirable or natural (with possible social darwinism), the craving of bloodshed and warfare in general, frowning upon idealism and notions of honor, building character through strife, and in terms of moral alignment, being a lighter shade of black; they’re not pure evil (for the most part, and those that are may be tolerated) and they’re better than the uncertain forces they have foreseen, but to those affected by their rampages and plots, but not by much.

Generally they go about stirring up conflict or engaging others in massive battles, attempting to attack people and force them to build alliances or exaggerate rivalries, and are usually plotting to find some relic or secret to do the one thing to make everyone start fighting.

Alternatively, they may be out to conquer the multiverse, or much of it as they can, in order to safeguard it from this unknown threat, and have a mentality that only they have the authority to do so and the will to do it. They may also have different sub-factions with different views, but in the end it comes down to the same methods.

I have some characters in mind, and may switch around others from various factions if they might fit better here, but i mainly need more Big Lady characters. Generally I would appreciate suggestions from some of the following fandoms: Marvel, Disney, DC, RPG-style games I can update for the setting, but I’m good for stuff I’m not familiar with. Just suggest whoever and I’ll see if they fit!

Some possible characters for this group of endless battle: Javik from Mass Effect, with elements of Doomfist from Overwatch (giant gauntlet that amplifies powers, the same motive, and goals). Azula from the Avatarverse, in full Evil Overlord lady mode, and perhaps Kuvira from Legend of Korra as a more straightforward warlord queen?

Airachnid from Transformers Prime, with characteristics of her IDW incarnation; less sadistic and more experiment-minded, and interested in psychological experiments on a vast scale. Also the Combaticons, all female here, as rough and tough soldiers that are like anti-Dinobots.

Maleficent from Disney, playing up her fae aspects to the full; she may have little interest in the actual purpose behind a multiverse of endless war, but is going with it for her own plans or amusement. Depends on how the Disney stuff interacts with this? She might be a dark goddess of magic backing them, too

The Condesce/Meenah Peixes, from Homestuck. In this continuity she was originally doing her endless war against all the multiverse in an attempt to build a homeland for the trolls, after their lost their homeworld of Beforus. After eons of endless war, she’s become incredibly bloodthirsty and perhaps a little addicted to slaughter, and may be losing track of her original goal in favor of slaking her bloodlust. (Alternatively, I may choose to put her into a criminal organization as part of the Midnight Crew and other groups that are criminals but not, y’know, total bastards. Depends on whether I want to play up her canon traits, or soften them.)

Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka from Warhammer 40k: he’s the embodiment of ‘orcs as warlike brutes’, how could i not?? Maybe a girl version for Ork Amazon fun?

Yellow Diamond: I previously implied that she, White and Blue were captives of Megatron and mere jewelery for him, but I might have it that she has become freed and joined up with these guys, embittered and coming to believe in their cause, desperate as she is to save her people.

Hel from Marvel, but with more traits of her mythical inspiration (perhaps she shifts between two extremes, one cold but fair, the other rather playfully malicious and hungry for death), acting as a divine backer for them?

General demony characters associated with battle and warfare: no specifics here at the moment, but characters that fit this motif would be good

In general, blood knight-types, femme fatales that can be read as warriors, and anyone that has a big character emphasis on strength would fit well here!

The second faction is a variant on the Suicide Squad/TAsk Force X from DC; an elite group of agents working on behalf of mysterious benefactors. Their true numbers are in the millions, but this refers specifically to a squad that is a recurring set of characters. They are not normally antagonistic, though their goals may bring them into conflict with the Fleet, and certainly they don't like the militant guys up there and the Cobalts fight with them….. A Lot.

This task force consists exclusively of anti-heroes, reformed villains, and characters who were once straight up pure bad but have since reformed. They are people looking for a chance to find a new life, atone for their misdeeds, or simply are looking for a better cause and were never bad to begin with.

They are run by Amanda Waller of DC, who may either be part of, or answer to, a governing assembly of big multiversal figures trying to bring some stability to the cosmos. They might also have divine backing; some of their agents are people who are definitely dead, but are still looking for a second chance.

Some possible members:

Reaper/Gabriel Reyes from Overwatch, playing up both his ghostly qualities and the idea that he is a double agent. Most likely the leader and role model for them, and is a straight up ‘anti hero that kills bad guys who deserve it’ character here, rather than the vengeful wraith he is in canon at present.

Blue Diamond: Assuming that its the same case with Yellow, she’s come to regret what she has enabled over the eons and come to conclude that Pink/Rose Quartz had been right all along. Note that her true form is likely planet-sized here. A good chunk of her loyal gems may attend as the squad’s brute muscle.

Shockwave: From Cybertron, mostly using his IDW characterization. Specifically, this is Senator Shockwave. Once this famously cold, heartless and logical ‘Con was a hopeful idealist until the corrupt leaders of his homeworld took his face, his hands, and his ability to feel anything but cold logic. Following recent events, though, his mind has been freed, and he is in shock at millions of years of horrifying cruelty, and he would like nothing better than tho put his scientific acumen to work helping the multiverse.

Bucky Barnes/The White Wolf: He’s Wallers’ attendant, representative in the squad, and something of a political officer, muddled by his tendency to be everyone’s obnoxious brother.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy: A two-for-one deal, both of them usually giant ladies or even a full on fusion, and their canon tendency to become better people by being around each other has blossomed into full on attempts to go Good. Harley’s actual job is to be an on-team psychiatrist, while Ivy has transformed into a full on plant monster lady who sees it as her job to restore devastated worlds to full health again.

Lust, from Fullmetal Alchemist. Honestly undecided if she belongs here or with the warmonger faction; either way, she is mostly akin to the canon Lust from the manga and Brotherhood, but with the motivations of her first anime counterpart. Big, busty and largely embodying bloodlust, she has somehow incorporated most of her fellow homunculi and gained their powers, most obviously Pride and Gluttony, becoming absolutely ravenous and death to all that face her, and she is called in to devour entire planets and absorb their souls if there is no other way to save them from otherwise certain doom. They can then be extracted from her and given new bodies at some later date.

Giganta, from DC. Drawing on the more benign or ‘hey, being a baddie is just a job, y’know?’ takes of her. With a bit of the friendly valley girl vibes she had in the DCU!

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and DEadpool: Considered as one unit here because this version of Deadpool is a flawed clone of Slade, who was a highly skilled super soldier for hire. The squad dealt with Deadpool’s frustrated actions his makers forced him to do, and subsequently recruited both Slade and Deadpool into their ranks, with the latter being treated as an obnoxious little brother to Slade. This Slade is heavily based on his Arrowverse actor, and Deadpool looks like a melted version thereof.

Any additional characters are, again, highly encouraged! Generally I’m looking for characters who were anti-heroes or reluctant villains at best (think Mr. Freeze types; ones that felt they had no choice and they made you REAl SAD) or you could see them regretting what they did and wanting to atone for it.

Generally speaking, these guys aren’t antagonists except in the most genuine sense; they might have opposing goals to the fleet, but they are more likely allies than not. Occasionally their purposes might run counter and a fight starts, and they should ideally be so skilled as to pose a serious threat to even the most extreme numbers.

I’m rather lacking in Sexy Lady-Types for this faction, so I especially welcome suggestions on that score. Send ‘em in, please!

[aunti-christ-ine]

June 27, 2017 -- Liverpool solicitor (lawyer) Rex Makin dies at age 91 -- Brian Epstein’s next-door neighbor and confidante when he lived with his parents on Queens Drive, Childwall in Liverpool.

Mr. Makin invented the term 'Beatlemania' 

 [ Rex Makin remembered ]  

      BY PADDY SHENNAN     27 JUN 2017

Anybody who was anybody in Liverpool knew the famous solicitor, benefactor and ECHO columnist

.A wise, waspish workaholic who seemed to know everything about anyone who was anyone. Veteran solicitor and ECHO columnist Rex Makin was all these things and more. 

Fearless, unflappable and, at times, ferocious, he was always cool and calm amid crisis and controversy, which he seemed to attract. And relish. 

Above all, Rex (full name Elkan Rex Makin), who has died aged 91, seemed to know everything and everyone. 

Anne Robinson, Carla Lane, Freddie Starr, Jimmy Tarbuck, former assistant Merseyside Chief Constable Alison Halford and thousands of other cops, robbers and innocent people – celebrities or otherwise – had Rex’s number. 

Rex met Anne Robinson outside the late Brian Epstein’s London home on the day after he died in August 1967.

Epstein was a friend of the Makin family and Rex was also his solicitor. 

Robinson was then a Daily Mail reporter covering the former Beatles manager’s death. They became firm friends and remained so. 

Rex’s vast range of contacts included MPs, showbiz stars, city councillors, high-ranking police officers – and gangsters. 

And he, himself, was one of the best known men on Merseyside. Anybody who was anybody on Merseyside knew Rex Makin. And probably held strong opinions about him. While plenty of no-good nobodies also knew his name. And his reputation. 

He was occasionally called a friend of the underworld, although he preferred to be called a friend of the underdog. 

In 2003, he was granted the Freedom of the City, an honour he was extremely proud to hold. Announcing the award, the then leader of Liverpool city council Cllr Mike Storey said: “Rex has been offered this for his contribution to public life over many years. He has endowed many cultural projects and made a valuable contribution to education within the city.” 

He famously gifted £50,000 to the newly-created Liverpool John Moores University to set up its E. Rex Makin Professorship in Criminal Justice and, among many other donations to city institutions, he made gifts to National Museums Liverpool. 

Rex, who was born in Birkenhead but moved with his family to Liverpool when he was three-years-old, fought countless battles with the Goliaths of this world, although it was wrong to ever dismiss him as a David. Rex Makin v The Judiciary or Rex Makin v Merseyside Police always looked like an even contest. 

“My staff are amazed by the letters I write,” he once told the ECHO. 

Probably not half as amazed as the people who were on the receiving end. 

Unlike so many be-suited professionals, he was less concerned with being a part of the Establishment than with knocking establishment figures and stuffed shirts off their perches. 

His lack of respect for authority figures, he claimed, was caused by a hatred of bureaucracy and decisions made by grey, faceless pen-pushers. 

He approached old age with a furious energy and, before his health and mobility began to suffer in his later years, charged around his office with all the zeal and energy of a much, much younger man. 

Rex could be cutting and caustic – he was an incredible gossip – and was never shy of letting people have the benefit of his always strongly-held opinions. Sometimes they were pithy. Sometimes they were poisonous. 

His ECHO column, initially called Makin His Point (which he always managed to do), was very carefully read (and re-read) by ECHO executives. On occasions, certain lines had to be left out for legal reasons. It was ironic, really, that the column had to be handled with such care, bearing in mind it was written by a solicitor! 

His first column appeared on November 5, 1993 and the reaction among ECHO readers was predictably extreme. After all, you either loved or hated Rex. You had an opinion because he always did. 

One reader said: “He’s a man who pulls no punches and ‘tells it like it is.’ You can’t ignore him. Long may he continue.” 

Another wrote: “We will not be getting the ECHO on Friday nights again. The decision to employ Rex Makin staggers me. Filling so much space with his opinions and his self-satisfied ‘I know what is best for all of us’ amazes me.” 

In that first column, Rex provided a list of 10 well-known people who would “not be missed.” 

It included: “King Rat Degsy (Derek Hatton). He has become an official actor instead of an amateur one. He has been disastrous for Liverpool’s image.” And also: “Those public servants who exercise their power malignantly on the basis that they are accountable, as a result of which the ordinary citizen is oppressed.” 

And: “Those malicious knockers of Liverpool who do not understand our problems (even though some of them may be self-induced unfortunately).” 

Many people thought Rex carried on a feud against Merseyside Police following the Alison Halford case, in which the former assistant chief constable alleged sex discrimination. 

Rex, who celebrated 60 years in the legal business in 2009, denied it, saying: “I don’t carry out feuds with anybody.” But he added: “I am irrational. I do lose my temper, but it is a very quick thing. It only lasts a minute. I have a short fuse. I don’t suffer fools gladly. 

“But I do seem to be a lightning conductor for trouble. My life seems to have been one long controversy.” 

Rex lived in Woolton with his devoted wife, Shirley, and they had two children: Robin, who followed in his father’s footsteps as a solicitor and works for the family firm, and daughter, Susan, who became an art therapist in Toronto, Canada. 

Rex was 68 when he became an ECHO columnist – to be a journalist, he told me, had been his last ambition in life. 

It was a part of his week which he enjoyed immensely. He was incredibly proud of the column and would often ring the ECHO features editor the day before publication to ask: “Did you see what I’ve written about so-and-so? Funny isn’t it?” 

Invariably, he would be referring to a joke at a powerful person’s expense. But Rex should never have been dismissed as a crusty, bitter and twisted old man. There was a kindly benefactor hiding behind that fearsome facade. 

He could be deadly, but he was also deadly serious and passionate about education, the arts and Merseyside, itself. 

He said: “I love Liverpool and its people. I am lucky. I have made my money and am in a position to give something back.” 

Rex was on the board of trustees at Liverpool John Moores University, the university down the hill from his own alma mater (Rex, typically, was editor of both the official Liverpool University student newspaper and its rag mag in the 1940s). 

Rex Makin liked to say that he earned his living “by the sweat of my tongue,” and, of his way of working and dealing with people, explained: “I have a sense of mischief. I like to think of myself as a latter-day Puck. 

“I don’t like hurting people deliberately, but I am outspoken and sometimes the truth hurts.” 

Anybody who believes Rex Makin didn’t leave his mark on Merseyside life didn’t know Rex – and doesn’t know Merseyside – very well. 

Rex Makin: he made his point. 

 [ http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/my-life-seems-been-one-13244469 ]