#( And once he found out about the resistance hiring recruits he took that offer but not without a heated rant; the 'where is my wife' rant )

[maruzzewrites]

For your yandere prompts, can I have 5 and Giorno please?

5. “This world doesn’t deserve an angel like you.”

Content warnings: yandere content, implied obsessive behavior, emotional manipulation, controlling behavior, threats and Mafia stuff.

There was a time, at the start of your relationship, that Giorno’s finger curling your hair would bring you joy, then shivers. It was a slow, deliberate, languid motion; the strands that caught between his fingers, around each phalange, lighting up your nerves.

You understood, after a while, that he did this when you were angry, when you were trying to talk about something important, when you were talking about someone else. The pleasant sensation would make your brain pause in its track, shutter to a sudden stop, just to enjoy the goodness it brought you. The affection you craved, rarely got – and that was when it clicked into place.

Giorno, for a plethora of reasons, was hardly able to give too much love. At least physically, he was stiff, and only with the threat of separating he would show what he felt. Always, always, with a twirl of your hair. With that first clue, you noticed more: how he wouldn’t kiss you in public, but ask you to stay close and not talk to others; how he didn’t wear most things you picked for him, but wanted both of your locations shared at all times; how you couldn’t do anything, not if it wasn’t with him – but his possession stopped with demands, never with concessions.

When you first understood this, you were somewhat sympathetic. He was head of an empire, a criminal one, and showing any sort of weakness would be potentially lethal for him, for you, for all his companions. That was, eventually, the next step into your relationship’s collapse. You finally considered the nature of your romance with a man so dangerous, so influential, so divine in his power, that he could order your death for the smallest of slights.

It was frightening, but Giorno had always been nothing but kind to you – despite the tendency to be so reserved. After the initial shock, you attempted to test the waters with opening communications, and that failed. Then you attempted to be more direct, coming out empty handed once again. After weeks of efforts, as veiled or as blunt as possible, you couldn’t bear the thought anymore.

You informed Giorno that your relationship was over, and he had your hair between his fingers. This time around, it was his plan to stop working, no matter how you kept your head low. You didn’t concede when he asked, smooth as silk, if you wanted to talk further before such a decision. Such a life-changing choice.

You confirmed your intentions, and his fingers combed through your hair for the first time. Delicately, at first, when he still thought he could have the possibility to convince your otherwise. A bit more forceful after a moment, until he sighed lightly and left you alone. Stepped back, and looked down at your face; he looked melancholic, a bit lost, but his green eyes didn’t lose their shine.

He bid his farewell and hoped you would be happy, but asked to give you one last gift in the form of a house. If anything, he explained, he felt the duty to provide you with a future abode since you lived with him for so long, gave up your job long ago. Despite you having savings that you never touched because of Giorno’s generosity during your relationship, you admitted to yourself the need for a new house, and accepted after some resistance.

You started your new life as soon as all your things where out of your shared home, and you chose a modest apartment in a quiet part of the city as your starting point. You didn’t want any type of huge debt with Giorno or his organization, and nothing came after you transferred – even days, weeks, after your departure.

Adjusting to life after the breakup wasn’t as easy as you imagined, with the doubts about being able to do things you couldn’t before: going out with friends or people in general, talking freely at the phone, dressing down when going for a simple errand. It felt alien, but welcome with each passing day.

Somehow, Giorno’s memory took a bitter taste after your separation and he wasn’t as angelic as you remembered him; with time, his smile became a bit more crooked, his eyes more dull, his composure more rigid. Like a master more than a lover, no matter how gentle he would treat you.

Yet, you couldn’t help appreciating the fact he respected your decision. The most powerful criminal in Italy, and he was letting you go as if it was nothing, as if it was normal – and you didn’t really wrap your head around how vile that perception was. Despite all the grime on his image, in your mind, his gold was still shining like the sun, distracting you from the filth.

Distracting you from danger, too. It was only after two months that you started to notice someone following you around. You feared it would be someone hired by Giorno. Your answer would come a week into your discovery, when a man cornered you in an alley as you were returning home. He asked you about your life, about your love life, about Giorno himself; his veiled threats about how he needed to know where the big man was, and maybe you could be the key to open the gate.

You knew Giorno had enemies, people who wanted him dead, but you failed to consider how you were easily a target to him because of your bond. You shuttered how you were separated, how he did have nothing to do with you anymore, but the man was only angered. You managed to run away, somehow, and lock yourself into your apartment.

Breath caught in your throat, eyes watering. Your thumb hovering over the keys of your phone, Giorno’s number on the screen. You shook your head, and opted to avoid his involvement. You would try to handle it as well as you could, with help from authorities.

However, the police wouldn’t do anything. The simple recruits could only sigh and shrug, offering their condolences, while the higher-ups were on the verge of laughing in your face – their smug grins were enough mockery, though. You found yourself with daily threats on your doorstep, urging you to help this mysterious organization reach their goal and that no harm would be done to you if you collaborated.

At some point, your mind broke. You were on the phone, listening to it ring. Giorno answered with his name, and asked who it was. It felt like a thorn in your heart, but you ignored it. You started to sob your request for help, which turned into a wail. Giorno was silent, listening.

“Do you want me to send someone?” His voice was so placid, so warm, a calm river flowing while a storm was raging elsewhere. You could hear fondness in his tone, almost a restrain in letting it spill; and you hoped he was still feeling the same sense of relief you were, now that you felt like he was there with you.

“Can I come there?” You asked. There was a pause, and you feared his rejection. Maybe he found someone else, maybe he was ready to move on while you were ready to sink. A sigh carrying your name was heard, and you felt more tears falling, more whimpers coming out of your mouth.

You feared you would be alone in this. You would have to face the terror, the dread, all on your own while Giorno would swallow the grief and go on. You felt your muscles tremble, you felt your skin not fit you, and your breath didn’t belong to you anymore.

“Darling,” his voice came like a promise from heaven. You waited for something, anything, and another sigh ringed in your ears, “I’m sorry I left you to your devices. This world doesn’t deserve an angel like you.”

You shivered, but it felt better this time. Like you could actually sense every nerve, not as if you were experiencing something other than yourself. You asked, tentative, if you could come, again. His consent felt like water after the desert, and you listened carefully to his instructions about how to return. You thanked him and waited for him to hung up.

Once he was sure you weren’t listening anymore, he smiled as usual. He dialed another number, the man on the other end asking what he wanted. Giorno wasn’t in the mood for getting angry at some lowly thug, “You can stop bothering her. I will send your payment in your mail.”

He didn’t leave the man time to answer, and his phone was out of his hands immediately. He called for one of the maids, requested that they dusted the portion of wardrobe you left empty months prior and redecorate the bathroom with your favorite items again, those he stored in wait.

All he had to do, now, was arrange the return.

#jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #giorno giovanna #giorno x reader #yandere #yandere x reader #reader insert #hello i'm here with new content have fun lovelies! #Anonymous

[thisisthefanfic]

Hi!!!! I would love to request a din djarin drabble with angst and a happy ending please!!! Thank you💙💙💙

Hi! Sorry it’s late but I hope you like it!

Time

Paring: Din Djarin x Reader

Category: angst with a happy ending

Warnings: angst, but mostly none

Rating: G

This wasn’t how the mission was supposed to go. Not at all. But apparently even the most reputable bounty hunter recruiter couldn’t resist the temptation of Beskar armor. Din might has well of been wearing a dozen kyber crystal necklaces with how eager everyone was to get their hands on it, and today happened to be one of those days.

Din Djarin had hired you as an aid a few months prior when you offered your services in exchange for passage to Naboo once he had enough to sneak in successfully, and you’d spent your time running from imps and doing small jobs for gangs all while trying to keep the child safe. You had initially been there to keep an eye on the ship and in a few cases the child, but soon he found out that your stealth was much more helpful on his missions.

Today you had ended up in Mos Eisley once again. You had dropped the child off with Peli, and went out to look for the equipment you were hired to steal back. “After this job, I think we’ll have more than enough credits to sneak you into Naboo.” He’d said when you landed, sounding almost disappointed, but it was hard to tell through the helmet. Admittedly, you had grown fond of him and weren’t sure you really did want to go...but it had been the deal, even if he had a gentle seductiveness.

So there you where, sitting in the cantina across from the Rodian who hired you, when suddenly he had snapped for his men to steal the Beskar. You had both somewhat expected it, and drew your blasters to shoot the muscle that was currently attacking you. In a flash things had escalated from inside the cantina to outside, with Din going after the boss who had run off with your well earned credits, while you chased after one of the goons that had snagged your blaster.

“Let go of me!” The mousey man hissed when you threw him at a wall. “In good time.” You grunted as your grabbed your blaster from his hand and his to boot before pushing him off into the street, where he disappeared into the large crowd.

You were about to head back to Din, when you realized you didn’t know where he was. In fact, where were you? You didn’t recognize your surroundings, and you’d never really explored Mos Eisley, so the whole place seemed like a daunting maze to you.

Stepping out into the street, you bumped into several drunk stragglers, a few who snarled profanities as you sidestepped out of the way. “Do you kn—“ you started to ask one woman who walked through the dense crowd, but she completely ignored you and kept walking.

The early evening crowd had started to fill the streets, bustling from work to home or to grab some drinks, leaving you standing in the middle of an ocean of strangers. How where you supposed to find your way back now? Nobody would answer you where Peli’s shop was, and anyone you attempted to ask gave you a unsettling look, making you quickly walk the opposite way.

You had to stop yourself from calling out for Din, hoping he was out there looking for you and wanting to get his attention, but calling out “Mandalorian” could bring bad attention to yourself or him, and using his true name might do even more damage if the wrong people were around, which left you with nothing to do but find a spot to wait before you got even more lost.

“Is he even looking for me?” A voice in your head whispered as the suns continued to set in the horizon. You tried to shake the feeling, but he very well could have left. He probably had the credits by now, and he’d know his way back to his ship and the child, and if he didn’t know where you were, he wouldn’t have to spend credits to sneak you somewhere.

No! You shouldn’t be thinking that. Din was an honorable guy....but he was also a practical one too. It would be foolish to risk prolonging his time here to look for you, and if he did it could only be because he cared for you, which he couldn’t. There was no way in hell he could, you were just...you.

Leaning heavily against an alley wall, you exhaled a long, deep breath as you tried to calm your nerves, flinching every time a drunken voice sounded too close. It had been hours most likely and af this point you might have to stay there all night, search for lodgings in the morning...

“(Y/N)!” You jolted when you heard your name being shouted. It wasn’t even that clear or loud, but your eyes instantly picked up on it, your heart beating too fast as you stepped out of the alley to look. Was that...had Din called for you?

“(Y/N)!” You heard it again, this time accompanied by a whistle, making you gasp before you answered hesitantly into the dense crowd. “I-I’m here!!” You raises one hand up in the air in case he could see it. You didn’t care what looks you got, you knew it was Din you just knew.

“(Y/N)? I’m coming.” He shouted back, and despite you never having heard him yell that much, what with his quiet demeanor, you knew it was him, and your heart leapt as you pushed through the crowd towards the noise, until you suddenly crashed into something hard. “Din!” You gasped under your breath, recognizing the sound of his breathing as he gently pushed you away from his chest.

“(Y/N), I thought they’d got you, I couldn’t see you anywhere and Peli didn’t know where you were either,” he breathed out between labored breaths, he must have been running, which made your heart flutter a bit. “I...I’m glad you didn’t leave.”

“Leave?” You asked as you looked at him in confusion. “Why would I leave? I couldn’t even find my way back.” You snickered a bit before adding. “I actually thought...you might have left.”

“I couldn’t leave you, no. Never.” He said quickly, seeming almost shocked that you could say that, tilting his helmet curiously. “I made a deal to take you to Naboo—“

“Oh.” You said flatly, feeling a bit dumb and very disappointed. “That...makes sense. But you didn’t have to fulfill your ‘duty’ if that’s what it was.” You stepped a bit away, looking down as you began to walk from where he had come from. “We should go though, it’s late. Thanks for the rescue though.”

“Wait.” He said after a moment, stopping you in your tracks. “It...wasn’t just because of my duty. I wanted to find you, I wasn’t just doing my job I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”

“What?” You felt confused now, did he mean...

“When we took this job, I was hesitant to actually complete it because I didn’t want you to leave,” he continued as he looked at the ground. “It felt like when I tried to hand over the child, I felt wrong when I thought about sending you off...even if you wanted to, I wanted you to be here.”

“Din...” you breathed as you walked to him to give him a hug. He tended up at first but eventually relaxed as you spoke. “I don’t even want to go to Naboo anymore, I feel so used to you and the kid being around I just don’t think I could do it. I’d be so lonely, and I, well I—“

He cut you off by pressing his forehead to yours, sighing as he squeezed you closer. “I love you too, (Y/N).”

“You didn’t even let me finish saying it.” You chuckled as you nuzzled his helmet, earning a snort from the stoic Mandalorian. “But I do. I do love you.”

“Don’t run off again, I can’t lose you,” he sighed as he wrapped his arm around you and led you back to your destination. “The kid was worried too, I think we both got attached to your charms.”

“I won’t. I wouldn’t dare leave you and our...is he our son?” You asked curiously.

He actually chuckled a bit at that. “We’ll have plenty of time to figure that out.”

And you would.

#star wars #din djarin #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #blurb #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you

[multiverseforger]

Edit

Rachel Leighton was born in Austin, Texas. She was once a part-time sales clerk at a boutique, but later became a mercenary. In Captain America vol. 1 #319, she reveals to Captain America that she has a brother and that when she was younger was introduced by him to the super-criminal known as the Trapster. In exchange for weaponry that the Trapster provides her with, Leighton suggests that in return she prostitutes herself to the criminal. One of the members of the original Serpent Society,[1] Diamondback was a seductively sly woman with expertise in hand-to-hand combat, being trained by Anaconda at Taskmaster's academy. Her gimmick was that she threw acid-laced or poison-tipped diamonds at her enemies. After her first confrontation with Captain America while on assignment to find MODOK,[2] she was instantly smitten. Diamondback was assigned to take Captain America into custody from the Porcupine, but was reluctant to attack, concentrating her efforts on Porcupine instead.[3] She later attempted to form a partnership with Captain America to locate the Scourge of the Underworld.[4]

Viper staged a coup of the Serpent Society, causing several of her underlings to infiltrate as new members and setting Viper up to take over by force. Diamondback and their current leader Sidewinder escaped, recruiting Captain America's allies to rescue the Serpents who were still loyal to Sidewinder.[5] After a fierce battle, in which Viper was defeated, Sidewinder abandoned the Serpent Society. Diamondback stayed on for a while under the new leader, Cobra.

Rachel was later revealed to have resigned from the Serpent Society, and somehow temporarily switched bodies with the X-Man Dazzler. This led, in part, to a confrontation between the Serpent Society and the X-Men.[6] Diamondback later alerted Captain America to the Bloodstone Hunt.[7] She aided Captain America in combat with Batroc, Machete, Zaran, and Baron Helmut Zemo.[8] She also encountered Crossbones for the first time.[9] Diamondback later accompanied Captain America to the Red Skull's Skullhouse.[10]

Diamondback and Captain America eventually went on their first date, aided by Rachel's friends in the Serpent Society, Asp, Black Mamba, and Anaconda.[11] She then battled the Black Widow, and acquired a new costume.[12] Diamondback was eventually put on trial by the Serpent Society for her consorting with the enemy (most of the Society assuming, incorrectly, that Diamondback had betrayed their secrets to Captain America) and found guilty for her actions, and almost executed.[13] She escaped with Captain America and Paladin's help, and later hired Paladin to help get revenge on the Serpent Society.[14] Along with her best friends Black Mamba and Asp, she formed "BAD Girls, Inc."[15] After a failed kidnapping attempt from Anaconda, Diamondback was taken aboard Superia's ship, and joined her Femizons under duress.[volume & issue needed] While aboard Superia's ship, she was attacked by the Femizon Snapdragon, of whom Diamondback developed a phobia.[volume & issue needed] After being rescued and then being used as a test subject by the Red Skull to see if the blood packets that Crossbones brought was really Captain America's blood, the super-soldier serum enhanced Diamondback tracked down and confronted Snapdragon, who died in the fight.[volume & issue needed]

Later, there was a glitch discovered in the super-soldier serum that Cap was suffering from and Diamondback went to Superia in hopes for a cure. Using her as a test subject, there was a 50/50 chance that the cure would either work or kill Diamondback. As an added stipulation, if the test was successful, Diamondback had to serve Superia as the second Snapdragon. The experiment was a success, but she later got out of this deal when Superia was killed.[volume & issue needed]

BAD Girls disbanded after that. Some time later, Diamondback was infected with "mind-control nanoprobes" by Baron Zemo. Diamondback suffered extensive neurological damage from the experience and spent an extended period of time recovering in S.H.I.E.L.D. care.[volume & issue needed]

BAD Girls, Inc. reappeared in Cable & Deadpool, with the original lineup intact.[16]

Rachel's brother Danny is also known as Cutthroat. It was Danny and another of her brothers, Ricky, who originally fell in with a gang led by a man known as "Bing." Yearning to be included, she approached Bing alone. Upon claiming she would do anything to join the gang, Rachel was beaten and possibly raped by Bing, who years later became Crossbones, kidnapped her, starved her and abused her until she agreed, with ulterior motive, to steal packages of Captain America's blood from Avengers Mansion. Bing/Crossbones murdered Danny/Cutthroat, who was attempting to replace him as aid to the Red Skull, and also killed Rachel's third brother, Willy, when, despite being crippled in the military, he sought revenge by rifle for the brutality inflicted on his sister soon after she was originally mistreated.[volume & issue needed]

Diamondback later turned up along with Asp and Black Mamba during the "Civil War" as a member of the Secret Avengers.[17] She took part in the final battle of the "war", but did not accept the offer of amnesty that came with Captain America's surrender. Later Diamondback and the other BAD Girls were captured by the Mighty Avengers in a New York City street mall.

Diamondback appears in Camp Hammond, as an official recruit for the Initiative, along with Ant-Man, Crusader, Melee, Geldoff, Dragon Lord, Geiger, and Red Nine. All of them were defeated by K.I.A., a rogue clone of Michael Van Patrick.[18] She later joined other members of the Inititative in battling the Skrulls in New York during the Secret Invasion storyline.[volume & issue needed]

When Norman Osborn assumes control of the Initiative during the "Dark Reign" storyline, Diamondback agrees to work for him.[19] Diamondback is revealed as a member of the Initiative's new team for the state of Delaware, the Women Warriors.[20] After the Constrictor saves her life from a crashing plane, the two begin a sexual relationship.[21] However, Constrictor discovers that she is secretly working for Gauntlet's "Avengers Resistance".[22] Constrictor decides not to say anything but worries about what would happen if she were found out. Both Diamondback and Constrictor are part of the invasion of Asgard. Diamondback tries to contact the Resistance but cannot get through. She debates whether or not to help Thor when Osborn and several others gang up on him. When Maria Hill comes to Thor's defense by firing a rocket launcher at Osborn's men, Diamondback adds to the explosion by dropping some explosive diamonds. Constrictor saves her and the two argue about her reckless behavior. They witness Sentry killing Ares and Diamondback sees Steve Rogers entering the battlefield.[23] As the Avengers begin to turn the tide in the battle, Diamondback tries to get Steve Rogers's attention and make sure he knows she and Constrictor are on his side. Constrictor misinterprets her actions and think she's abandoning him. She turns to find him but at the same time Sentry attacks Asgard's foundations on Osborn's orders. As Rachel and Constrictor reach out to each other, Asgard falls to the ground.[24] Rachel is dug out by Steve Rogers. Constrictor sees this and thinking Rachel does not love him, flees the scene with Taskmaster. After Osborn's defeat, Rachel attends a party at Avengers Tower where Rogers asks her to coordinate the remaining Fifty State teams. She tells him she will consider it.[25]

Later, Rachel is shown working as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and sporting a new costume.[26]

As part of the 2015-2017 All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, Captain America learns of Viper's plans with the Serpent Society, who are now operating under the new name of Serpent Solutions. He visits the retired mercenary Diamondback for information on the group. Their meeting is interrupted by Cottonmouth, Black Racer, and Copperhead. During the ensuing battle, Black Racer stabs Diamondback in the gut. After Captain America defeats the three villains, he rushed to Diamondback's aid. Diamondback immediately betrays Captain America, revealing herself to be a member of the Serpent Society once again, and Captain America is taken prisoner and brought to the Serpent Society's lair.[27] This leads to a confrontation between the Society and Captain America, Joaquin Torres, Misty Knight, and Demolition Man, during which Diamondback turns against Viper and helps the heroes defeat the Society.[28]

Diamondback is next seen working with her close friends Domino and Outlaw as mercenaries

[meteorstricken]

Sephiroth Week, Day 3 Prompt: Uniforms

“Tactile”

"Demon," President Shinra announced incredulously, slapping the Wutaian-language news publication down onto his desk. He settled into his chair holding an unlit cigar between his teeth. "This is a smearing portrayal of a valuable company asset."

Tseng stood at attention on the opposite side. Heideggar had reclined into a chair, resisting the urge to guffaw at the headlines, which read in full, "Shinra Boy-Demon Slaughters Advance Crescent Platoon." Hojo leaned against the wall off to the group's right.

"The Turks will investigate the slums for the publishers and ensure a meaningful understanding is reached, Sir," Tseng offered.

"Acceptable first steps for mitigation," Shinra replied, "but this rag made it topside. It's probably spreading outside Midgar. We need rapid counter-programming, and I want to know if Avalanche is involved. Wutai was always going to have an adverse reaction to losing, but no one else should be questioning that Shinra is acting in their best interests."

"Gyahahah! That kid's a hero if you ask me," Heideggar said. "You know how many infantry I'd have had to send into the meat grinder without him? Those boys got to go home and kiss their mommas one more time. Hardly had to fire a shot thanks to Sephiroth."

Shinra lit his cigar and puffed out a few smoky rings. "Sephiroth, celebrated war hero. We can sell that. We'll publish our own account and promote fanfare. Adjust his age to sixteen for the official story, and make sure no one says any different. Set up scripted media interviews with the cadets who came home early. They were proud to serve, would have done whatever it took, but they're happy to be back. If there are any eyewitnesses, it's all glory, minimal carnage. Sephiroth's an unmatched prodigy and they want to be like him. Let's turn this debacle around into a recruiting boost."

"Yessir," Heideggar barked. "By the time my guys are done, we’ll have their girlfriends calling the wrong name at night."

"…Right. Professor, prep Sephiroth for a dress uniform photo-shoot tomorrow morning. One of my assistants will meet with him and the camera crew to determine designer uniform options. "

Hojo lightly cackled and pushed up his glasses. "Very well, but I may need to sedate him…Sephiroth's enhanced mako regimen has given rise to certain uncompromising tactile sensibilities."

Shinra shook his head. "Work around that. The public needs to meet a sharp, lucid face, not a specimen."

"Hm..suit yourself," Hojo replied.

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

Sephiroth had originally been scheduled for a battery of mental exercises this morning, but this photo-shoot had usurped it at the last minute. Attempting to sleep had become unpleasant after returning from Wutai, though he'd been reassured it was a common occurrence treatment would resolve. Shouldn't that take priority? Pictures were usually for the lab, but he'd only been offered a hurried explanation that this was supposed to mark his first war victory.

He frowned at the crisp, starched blue button up and matching jacket that hung in the dressing room with him. Unfamiliar medals and pins adorned the jacket's left breast, and its shoulders were inlaid with a circle of silver stars. This was not the military's standard issue uniform for anyone, even higher ranking officers. If a change was coming to their design, there were simulations and hired models. Why were these untested clothes necessary to convey his performance in the war?

The short, quick-spoken woman outside the door who'd introduced herself as President Shinra's assistant had instructed him to put the button up on over the low, v-cut white undershirt he normally wore from day to day, and to wear the jacket over that. It was too much. Layers were claustrophobic for him, and anything that sat too close to the front of his neck gave an impression of being strangled. He sat down on the bench and pressed himself into the corner, hesitating. The idea of being so covered, and in all the wrong spots, made the room feel smaller and hotter the more he considered it.

"Need help adjusting anything in there, kid?" the assistant asked after several long moments.

"No. I…these aren't suited for me," he responded, struggling to keep calm, hoping that excuse would suffice.

"Ah. Well, the President did say we might need to try a few things to make it work. Let's see…You know, let's cut the crap and just go for the prototype special ops one. It's functional, so you'll be literally dressed to kill!" she laughed.

Sephiroth didn't know what to say to that--he required only selective armor to battle effectively--so he waited in awkward silence as Shinra's assistant rummaged through boxes and plastic wrappings around assorted articles. First, a pair of black leather pants swooped over top of the door. Inspecting them, he felt that the inside was softer than the outside, and cool to the touch. A matching coat, a black turtleneck sweatshirt, and a set of pauldrons followed.

He clenched one hand at the sight of the turtleneck. It was obviously an outfit meant for missions under cover of darkness--an improvement from the dress blues in terms of what he was accustomed to--but the shirt made it impossible. He opened his mouth to protest again, and then shut it. Complaining over physical discomforts didn't have a history of aiding his situation, but he could attempt a compromise. He was able to negotiate his field uniform without too many questions in Wutai because of how he fought.

The pants, he found, were perfectly fitted and allowed for flexible motion--acceptable. That was once piece down he would wear. Shoving one arm into the coat, he quickly recoiled and pulled it back out again. It created an unwanted layer with his t-shirt along his back, giving him the sense that someone was pushing on him. Sephiroth let out an exasperated sigh, and pulled his shirt over his head, hanging it up on the door's hook with the turtleneck.

Trying the coat again, his nerves instantly settled. He'd have to work on moving with the long, draping material around his legs when he trained, but other than that, it felt right on his torso by itself. The collar was unusually high, but it left the front of his neck completely bare--inoffensive enough, and he could use the pauldrons to raise or flatten it as needed. He finished dressing and opened the door.

"We got a winner?" the assistant asked, turning around to face him. "Oh whoops, looks like you missed the shirt."

Sephiroth pouted. He'd missed absolutely nothing, and he'd continue not missing it.

"I…see. It doesn't look bad…Just...just let me check if this will work for the shoot." She left the room to make a call, but Sephiroth could still hear her-- "Sir? Yeah, mostly. Oh, is he? Oh. That would have been useful to know beforehand. We did find something he's comfortable with pretty quick--the ops set--but he's bare-chested aside from the harness. Go ahead? Alright." Hanging up, she added, "Your funeral, boss. Your funeral." She poked her head back in, "Grab your things, kid. No makeup for that baby face, but we'll have to do something about your hair before we get this over with."

"Will I be keeping these?" Sephiroth inquired.

"That's up to Shinra. If it plays well, count on it."

#sephirothweek2020 #sephirothweek #sephiroth #ffvii #my fics #day 3

[passcridae]

Tuesday 10 November 2020; Nightfall. You come down from the roof of your home to find an envelope has been slipped beneath your door. Upon opening it you find the resistance has given you a new target: Yang Geoffrey, a 124 year old Club shifter who has been masquerading as a Heart Merchant for the better part of seventy years. 

Once the new tattoos appeared his social circle abandoned him when they found out he was really a Club. One of them has (unknowingly) hired the resistance to kill Yang for his charade. Never ones to turn down good coin or the opportunity to rid the world of another highranker, they accepted and passed the job onto you.

Geoffrey is ranked as a Jack of Clubs but is reportedly overweight and out of practice. The resistance urges caution but doesn’t think you should have any problems. This man is not a viable resistance candidate so you should not try to recruit him.

The sky over Sparrow’s head was a finger-painted mess of oily navy and blue, colors blocked and smeared together in clumsy strokes thanks to the sweetness of the powder lingering on his tongue and tinting his breath. Finding creative methods for quieting his thoughts was a necessary evil and, when it came to substances such as Dorian, a thoroughly enjoyable one. There was no space for Sparrow to ruminate on his shortcomings and his solitude when the sunset was painted in such vivid crimson and ochre.

The late evening breeze was spare, chilly but not unpleasant, slipping across the warm planes of Sparrow’s skin with a subtlety he recognized only in delayed appreciation. How long he’d been stretched out with back pressed to the cool tiles of the roof was anyone’s guess, least of all Sparrow’s. He had nowhere to be, no one to see. His detachments were lazily and sloppily described as freedom.

Yellows, oranges and reds had long bled into purple and deep navy by the time Sparrow registered the deepening chill in the air. Judging by the angle of the moon, steadily shedding the weight of the past week’s fullness, it was approaching one A.M. Sparrow pushed the mussed bangs from his forehead, otherwise reluctant to move. He’d fall asleep on the roof (again) if he weren’t careful. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, considering the lack of clouds blotting any of the stars that still flickered with a sheen of brush-stroked halo.

In spite of such thoughts, he slipped back inside. The window was closed and two-fold locked, despite the difficulty of the access point.

A bottle was snagged by inked fingers as he crossed the room, fragrant wine spreading across and amplifying the sweetness still lingering on his tongue. Only when Sparrow noticed the stark contrast of a white envelope against the dark floorboards by his door did he have reason to pause. The ambiguous seal of the revolution was clearer to Sparrow’s eyes, and easily popped open so he could scan the penned lines within.

The orders were simply laid out, as was, oddly enough, the reasoning. Sparrow rarely asked for more information on his targets, and even more rarely was it freely offered. People paid him to kill, not to ask questions; he was executioner, never the jury. Still, in this case, Sparrow couldn’t help himself. He turned the paper over, as if looking for additional explanation. Were people in this city really so petty as to end seventy-year relationships over the difference between a Heart and a Club? Was a new ink-blot of information enough to warrant the murder of an associate?

The new ink (on ink, on ink) on Sparrow’s skin was a blessing, as far as he was concerned; a boon that helped him monitor the purposeful variability of his rank all the more closely. But perhaps he was simply one of the lucky ones. Nothing in his new marking belied anything he tried to hide, like it had for this Club. Sparrow had already thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t a Diamond, or so he’d heard; there probably wouldn’t be room enough on his forehead for that breadth of transgressions.

No, he was still bitterly fortunate to be a Heart.

So while Sparrow might consider contracting a killer over the new margins extreme, the Shifter didn’t much care; he’d killed on others’ behalf for far pettier reasons than this, and it would be one fewer duplicitous highranker walking the land. Sparrow couldn’t find much reason to complain, especially for resistance work. Besides, in Sparrow’s eyes the night was still young. He had little reason not to embark on the task right away; it seemed a preferable distraction to lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for fickle sleep.

Sparrow didn’t even bother waiting for the last of the Dorian to wear off. 

He’d flown over the rooftops under the influence more than once, though usually for the simple enjoyment the swirls of colored lights and dots of crystal lamps brought against ashen brick buildings. Sparrow appreciated the same view now as he took wing towards a higher-ranked district than his own, the smudges of color only growing more vibrant as the money deepened and the dwellings grew more ostentatious. It was nothing compared to the flashiness of Diamond streets, but the warm burst of color against the depth of the navy sky buoyed Sparrow to further heights to witness the scope of it.

Despite the chill November carried on the air, Sparrow could see a cracked window as he broke his flight path to angle towards his destination. It was all the point of entry he ever needed.

Finely-boned feet alit with hardly a skitter on the sill, a few neat hops carrying him past the propped-open glass. A mana lamp had been left on, and Sparrow had to pause as his beaded eyes adjusted to the new swirls and halos of color, a vibrant mural of blissful oblivion in the face of certain death. Thus acclimated, on whisper-soft wings he swept to the floor.

The transition was seamless, with no need to revert back to the common human blueprint in between. Feathers shortened to scales as his spine cracked and elongated, adding vertebrae upon vertebrae, rib after delicately curved rib. Soft walnut melted into a mottled saffron, and Sparrow’s thin tongue flicked to taste the air and ozone, senses shifting, some crawling to heightened as others dulled.

Through it all, he listened to the sluggish heartbeat of the man sprawled on the bed, difficult to discern from under the rumbling snores. Sparrow tasted a sharpness of sour wine on the air. One boneless arm draped over the side, thick fingertips dangling inches from the floor. ‘Exercise caution,’ the order had said. Sparrow would’ve scoffed if he’d been able. The contractors probably could’ve executed this job themselves, but if they wanted to fill the resistance’s coffers with such easily earned gold, Sparrow wouldn’t be the one to argue otherwise.

He took his time slithering closer, rippling muscles working in perfect harmony across the plushness of the carpet. Had the hapless victim been awake he surely would’ve seen Sparrow coming, but even then: there would’ve been little he could have done. As soon as the Shifter finished appreciating the inevitable cleanness of the kill, it was over in seconds.

Sparrow’s coils wound tight before he darted within striking distance, needle-sharp fangs sinking into the soft flesh and latticing of veins that could be seen beneath the tenuity of the man’s skin. The twin pinpricks made purchase centimeters from his newly minted Club tattoo -- an unintentional but somewhat satisfyingly karmic picture painted. Sluggish with wine and slow to awaken despite the sudden burst of pain and inevitable burning, Sparrow’s target didn’t move nearly fast enough to avoid even a drop of the deadliest of liquids spilling directly into his bloodstream.

The man was large, stocky, but Sparrow had venom enough to spare. Even if the ill-fated Heart managed to procure an antivenom under the most unlikely of circumstances, the lingering effects of the current dose would have him laid up for days, weeks; long enough that Sparrow would, if necessary, have ample opportunity to swallow his pride and return to finish the job.

Disengaging, Sparrow darted back into the shadow of a low couch to survey his handiwork. The man sat up in bed, sweating, casting desperately about -- his heart was thundering, no doubt, only serving to spread the venom through his system that much more efficiently. Within the hour his nervous system would start to fail, paralyzing him to the confines of his bed and well out of reach of help if undiscovered. Over time his blood would thicken and clot, blocking essential pathways and dooming his organs to an untimely and agonizing failure. A thin, expertly angled blade slipped between a pair of ribs would’ve been infinitely quicker and more humane, but Sparrow was never hired for the quality of his humanity, nor did his benefactors ever seem to care much for mercy.

Truth be told, neither did Sparrow.

The old man’s panic meant little to him, even as it thickened in the air and carried eddies of unadulterated fear to Sparrow’s sensitive nostrils and flicking tongue. To say he loved his job would be a little too this side of sadistic even for Sparrow to admit, but there was still an odd swelling of pride in his fluttering ribcage as he shifted back to his namesake form.

Leaving the man to his panicked confusion, Sparrow darted on unnoticed wings back to the window and out again, deftly catching an updraft to carry him over the neighboring roof. He’d been in and out in under a manner of minutes, with no reason to suspect even the sharpest of eyes could’ve caught him flitting away -- or assumed he was anything other than he appeared. He was easily the most uncommon of common sparrows.

#solo: a duplicitous heart #catch me on an fbi watchlist for the things i googled about venomous snakes #if i mysteriously disappear y'all know why #also if i promised u a birdboy starter #stay tuned and thnx fr yr patience!

[thedcdunce]

Metamorpho

“Yeah, I’m alive.” - Metamorpho

Real Name: Rex Mason

Aliases:

Element Man

Dyna-Man

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 1″

Weight: 200 lbs (91 kg)

Eyes: Black

Hair: No Hair

Skin: White

Powers:

Unique Physiology

Abilities:

Archaeology

Investigation

Martial Arts

Weaknesses:

Orb of Ra

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Citizenship: American

Marital Status: Married (Sapphire Stagg Mason; wife)

Occupation: Soldier of Fortune

First Appearance: Brave and the Bold #57 (January, 1965)

Last Appearance: Batman and the Outsiders Vol 2 #40 (August, 2011)

Powers

Unique Physiology: Metamorpho's physical body appears segmented with each limb appearing to be entirely made of a different elemental substance; whether it is liquid, solid or gas.

Elasticity: Rex can stretch, bounce, elongated, control, reshape his body as if it were made of rubber or plastic.

Elemental Transmutation: Rex can transmute his body to any of a wide variety of liquid, gas or metallic elemental compounds and form it to his will. He was limited to the elements which occur naturally in the human body. Over time, this limitation seems to have disappeared. He can alter the shapes and consistencies of these elements and combine them to form complex compounds. Rex can assume forms of gas, liquid or solid states.

Molecular Reconstruction: Stagg once boasted that Mason possessed the potential to submolecular variance at will, more than simply changing his own molecular/atomic structure at will but altering the very chemical nature of other objects even at a distance.

Flight: By turning into a gaseous form Metamorpho can achieve a form of self propelled flight.

Metamorphosis: Metamorpho can also shape parts and portions of his body instead of the whole.

Enhanced Durability: The nature of Rex's body provides him with natural body armor offering damage resistance from blunt attacks and energy attacks.

Bio-Fission: Rex's powers developed so that he could create duplicates of himself from his body. They each can move and speak, and Rex typically reabsorbs them before engaging in combat.

Abilities

Archaeology

Investigation

Martial Arts

Weaknesses

Orb of Ra

Origin

In Ancient Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II, the priest Ahk-Ton discovered a fallen meteor, from which he crafted the Orb of Ra, a powerful artifact that would be used as a weapon in the future.

Millennia later, Rex Mason, a soldier for hire, was contracted by Simon Stagg to find the Orb of Ra. When he found it, his cohort, Java, stole it and left Rex in the light of an ancient meteor. This meteor transformed Mason into Metamorpho, the Element Man.

Soon after, he sought the Justice League's help in restoring him to normal. This failed, and Rex also rejected the JLA's offer of membership.

Metamorpho

Rex finally came to terms with his newfound powers and decided to use them for good. He started a career as a hero and he was always assisted by Sapphire Stagg Mason and her father Simon Stagg. As Metamorpho, he participated in several cases, most of them on his own, but sometimes he would help other heroes in need.

When Batman was turned into a monster, he sought the help of Simon Stagg; but as his transformation went out of control, it was up to Metamorpho to keep the "Bat-Hulk" at bay until he found a way to revert the process.

After a few years of adventures, Metamorpho was offered the chance to return to his normal state using a scientific procedure by Simon Stagg, but the experiment required that Rex spent years submerged inside a vat of chemicals. Rex agreed and Stagg started the experiment. Unfortunately, Stagg was forced to take Rex out of the procedure during the early stages when Sapphire was threatened by a hired killer known as Bounty Hunter. Metamorpho teamed up with Batman once again in order to save Sapphire, but the killer managed to escape.

Thanks to a freak accident caused by Java, Rex gained the powers and abilities of Batman and Superman and inadvertently he assisted them on the capture of an international criminal. After this, the effects reverted naturally and Metamorpho lost the super powers. Metamorpho assisted Batman on several other occasions and certain time they worked with Plastic Man in order to clear Bruce Wayne's name. When Rex decided to leave the city and relocate on a hidden retreat in the mountains, he was used by the local criminals on their gold smuggle operation and he only learned the truth after Batman came in looking for him. After this event, Rex decided to return to the city.

The Outsiders

Rex continued his adventuring solo, until the day when Batman's associate, Lucius Fox, was kidnapped in Markovia by Baron Bedlam. At just that time, Metamorpho had been seeking a cure from Markovian scientist, Dr. Helga Jace. Metamorpho aided in overthrowing Bedlam and decided to stay on with this new group of heroes, whose name he coined: the Outsiders.

With time, Doctor Jace was on her way to discovering a way to cure Rex. In the meantime, she helped him gain access to his girlfriend, Sapphire Stagg. The reunion was brief as her father, Simon killed Rex using the Orb of Ra. Although Metamorpho was already dead, Doctor Jace knew there was a way to revive him and she asked the Outsiders for help. To restore him, the Outsiders decided to return to Egypt, in search of the meteor of Ahk-Ton. There, they were transported back in time to 1200 B.C. Metamorpho was again exposed to the ancient meteor and restored. He briefly came under Ahk-Ton's control before the Outsiders could stop him and capture Ahk-Ton. Upon their return to the 20th century, Rex learned that the second exposure to the meteor transformed him permanently, which saddened him at first until Sapphire Stagg proposed marriage to Rex, which he wholeheartedly accepted.

Later, the Outsiders foiled an assassination attempt on Simon Stagg, which earned Rex and Sapphire his blessing to their wedding. As Rex and Sapphire readied for their wedding, his former foe, Maxwell Tremaine, sent his shape-changing lackey, Even Steven to kidnap Sapphire. Even Steven betrayed Tremaine and killed the both of them. After these events, Rex and Sapphire finally got married.

After the wedding, the happy couple decided to try to find a way to conceive a baby.

Hopes for children were dashed after much physical examination. And so, Rex agreed to undergo an experiment which would infuse him with new DNA. Unfortunately, while Doctor Jace began this treatment, the Manhunters activated all their sleeper agents on Earth—including Jace! Jace captured the Outsiders and took control over Metamorpho. Sadly, before Jace could be stopped, she destroyed Metamorpho and herself. 

Justice League

Metamorpho laid dormant for quite some time. Finally, he was reconstituted by the Dominators' gene bomb. Soon thereafter, he resumed his heroic career as a charter member of Justice League Europe. He suffered temporary amnesia, and forgot about his family, who eventually sought him out. To his surprise, he now had an infant son Joey. By then, Sapphire had been pressured into marrying Java and Rex could not cope with such an apparent betrayal. He and Sapphire went their separate ways. During his time with Justice League Europe, he met and fell in love with Vivian D'Aramis, the Crimson Fox. Though Vivian returned his feelings, she was torn when her former husband, Rene, returned from the dead. She chose to go with Rene and the two of them faked their deaths.

It seemed tragedy would ever follow the Element Man, as his son, too was cursed by the meteor of Ahk-Ton. Unless contained, the boy would randomly transform the elements around him. For everyone's safety, Rex agreed to place the boy in Simon Stagg's care. Once done, Stagg forbade Rex from ever seeing Sapphire or Joey. For his son's safety, Rex abided this until he met a woman named Jillian Conway. She had also been transformed by the meteor. She convinced Rex that she knew a way to cure them of their metamorphosis. Rex hoped that this miracle would work for his son, too, and he stole Joey away from Simon Stagg. Before it was too late, Rex discovered that Conway had misread the hieroglyphics; when she attempted to reverse the process on herself, she was instead destroyed. In the confusion, Joey had escaped and found his way to the the meteor. Since the meteor transforms those who touch it, and Joey transforms the things he touches, both canceled each other out. Joey was cured of his condition, and the meteor was rendered inert.

Rex and Sapphire were once again estranged and he began to mutate even further into a more rock-like form. During this time, he was drawn once again to Vivian D'Aramis. This relationship was cut short when Vivian was kidnapped and ultimately killed.

Metamorpho has twice reunited with the Outsiders: once in Paris, and again at Geo-Force's wedding.

Tragedy struck again when Metamorpho shielded his fellow Leaguers upon reentry from space. He was rendered "inert," and was interred in Valhalla Cemetery, the graveyard of heroes. There he laid, but not peacefully. When the sixth-dimensional being called the "Id," was loosed on Earth, it granted everyone's desires. Young Joey Mason wished for his father's "return"; the dead hero was not, however, brought back "to life." After the Id's defeat, Rex's strained form was returned to its grave.

Apparently, Rex's spirit remained alive and he knew that he could be restored using the Orb of Ra. He finally succeeded in contacting Sapphire Stagg and she used it to restore him at last. He was soon back into the swing of things. Thayer Jost recruited him to join a short-lived revival of the Doom Patrol.

The whole Metamorpho clan was involved in an explosion which altered their identities. Simon, Sapphire and Joey were all merged into a single energy being. Rex himself took on the form of the late Java. The resulting amnesia led the former into a blind rage and up against Black Canary. Canary ultimately guessed what had happened and helped them regain their individual selves. Apparently, Rex subconsciously chose the form of Java because of jealousy; where Rex could never succeed, Java had been like a son to Simon Stagg. Stagg was rejuvenated by the affair and suggested they begin their adventuring anew.

Meanwhile, a second Metamorpho appeared. This person possessed most of Rex's memories, but suffered a measure of amnesia. This person accepted Arsenal's proposal to join the new Outsiders. The real Rex soon learned of his duplicates activities and went to reassimilate him.

He revealed to the Outsiders that he had fallen to Earth protecting the JLA, his body dispersed into many pieces. Though most pieces were recollected, one fragment reformed itself into its own separate consciousness. Understandably, this new Metamorpho had limited memory of its past and he eventually came under the wing of S.T.A.R. Labs in California and joined the Outsiders

The Outsiders were not so quick to allow Rex to destroy their teammate and in the end, Rex decided that this new version of himself was indeed a unique sentient being. He was allowed to continue his life with the Outsiders and choose a name for himself: Shift.

He teamed up with other heroes when Deadman coerced a group of heroes to form a task force against Agamemno and the Injustice League.

This "second" Metamorpho went by the name "Shift" and developed a relationship with Indigo. After the events of One Year Later, Shift willingly chose to be re-assimilated into Metamorpho, after killing several people. Rex stepped in to fill Shift's position in the Outsiders, while a full account of Shift's crimes was pending.

Shortly following the "Battle for Blüdhaven", the Outsiders went through an organizational change and Nightwing left the team, deferring leadership of the Outsiders to his old partner, Batman. Batman screened several known heroes to see who would be appropriate for the new roster, and Metamorpho was one of the veteran members selected for the team, beating out Aquaman.

However, Batman went missing and the Outsiders started looking for him all across Gotham. Metamorpho and Grace went to Arkham Asylum and learned from Dr. Arkham that Joker had instructed all the inmates to sing a song about Batman and gave all of them a poster with the picture of Batman's tombstone on it. Back at their headquarters, Metamorpho comes to the realization that without Batman, there is no team.

After receiving a message from a fake Batman, the team decided to play along to locate the real Batman. Unfortunately, after the message was delivered REMAC was infected with a virus that caused him to attack Thunder. Metamorpho tried to restrain REMAC and made him stop his attack, but the cyborg started an explosion sequence that destroyed their headquarters and blew Rex into a million pieces.

Fun Facts

Metamorpho is sometimes known as E-Man and The Fab Freak.

#metamorpho #rex mason #element man #dyna-man #dyna man #dynaman #outsiders #Doom Patrol #justice league europe #jle #seven soldiers of victory #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

[panticwritten]

In-Between Collection #2 Scene 2

A Summons

Table of contents!

All of my writing!

What are the In-Between Collections?

This one happened sometime in the nebulous space that I was kind of pretending the Breaking Furnace daydream wasn’t happening lmao. I think it would have been around chapter 4.

Also, I’m gonna be 20 in two weeks, what is real life

Word count: 1241

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The Original June 22nd 2016

In less than a month in the real world, I’ve progressed years in the new Gravity Falls universe. I haven’t been able to find more than traces of Bill. I’m starting to think I might have to summon him to get him to show his face.

That’s a little hard to swing when I’m trying to convince Stanford not to drop out of Backupsmore. He’s so close to finishing his thesis, the whole thing will be ruined if he doesn’t get through it.

We need funding in Gravity Falls, after all. It’s hard enough to explain where I get my money as it is, but if I could suddenly fund our research it would bring up questions I can’t answer. I doubt it would go over well that I work for an organization that hired me to fuck with his life.

I kneel down to gather another armful of fallen debris. I might be able to get by with checks from the Scouts in the new universe, but I have to actually work in the real world. Preparing firebreaks is mind-numbing enough for me to be able to talk to Kane at the same time, however.

“I still don’t think you had to start so early.”

He keeps pace with me on my back and forth between the tree line and our brush piles. I don’t look at him. I’m not sure how long we’ve been working today. I’m starting to get a headache, and I’m not sure if it’s from the work itself or Kane’s voice.

“I knew he would get closed off later. The only other people he talks to without prompting are his parents and Fiddleford.” I clench my jaw and resist the temptation to fall back into the universe, back into the argument with Stanford. “These days I’m more of a sounding board than an actual person, I think.”

“Genuine affection?” Kane appears in front of me, head inclined. “That’s dangerous.”

I walk right through him.

“I don’t know how much about him I’ve changed just by being there,” I go on as if he never spoke. “But I would never be able to get close enough if I waited much longer.”

“Have you found your contact yet?”

I shake my head, just a little, even in the real world.

“I think he’s tipped his hat at me in the few chances I’ve had to sneak away to Gravity Falls, but—” I stop with a grunt, knelt down to tug a branch back into the road. “—I might have to risk opening my mind to him if I want him to talk to me.”

He makes a thoughtful sound, and I finally take the bait to step back into my full dreamscape. I keep half a mind on my job, but the two of us land back in the Cube to talk. I turn on my heel to face him.

“About time.”

He lounges against the wall with a thick envelope held out in offering. It doesn’t look like a job card, but he doesn’t have any other business to be bothering me with. I make no move to take it, so he holds it up to inspect it under the light.

“I don’t know the last time I had to deliver a summons.” He gives me a side-eye. “Especially to an F-Class Scout.”

I glower and hold a hand out for the envelope. He surprises me by actually handing it over.

“And where am I being summoned to?” I ask while I break the wax sealing it shut.

“The council.”

I pause with the thick paper halfway out of its sheath. I stare down at my hands with the momentary expectation for it to attack.

But, no, it’s just paper. A normal envelope carrying a letter on the kind of stationary I wish I could afford. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to receive from an Ivy League college or a government official. It’s certainly fancier than the scrolls I normally send notes around the Cube in.

I’ve always gotten the feeling that the council hated me. I’ve only heard whispers, rumors of threats, from the group. I’ve met only one of the members, though I’m almost certain he’s not a good indication of what the council is like.

They’re the ones that hold our lists. They keep track of who they can use as leverage against individual Scouts. They watch us and decide what requires punishment in the form of making those lists shorter.

I manage to only hesitate a few seconds before diving in and reading the letter. It’s a full sheet of paper, but it only bears five words typed neatly in the center.

‘Come at your earliest convenience.’

I fold the paper and shove it back into the envelope. I look back to Kane, who watches me with narrowed eyes.

I won’t let him see that I’m nervous.

I won’t let him see anything.

“Take me to them.”

~-S-~

I try to avoid actually going to the Scouts’ main headquarters. Base. Lair. Whatever. It’s busy, everyone recognizes me, and I don’t like it. I want to keep my work with the Scouts and my identity in the Cube as separate as possible. I’m starting to think that won’t be possible.

I force myself not to look at anyone, at anything. I only take in a vague impression of gray in the halls, the rumble of voices only presenting as a low hum. A few faces jump out at me as more familiar than others, members of The Collective and others I wasn’t aware of being part of the clan.

If they try to talk to me, it doesn’t register.

I focus on Kane instead.

I thought he would lead and expect me to follow. He doesn’t. He walks barely a half-step ahead of me, so I have to watch him out of the corner of my eye. I’ve never seen a trainee walk beside their supervisor.

Then again, Kane hasn’t exactly been treating me like a trainee lately. All of it’s off, ever so slightly. I wouldn’t notice if I didn’t know him so well.

The smile, missing its mocking edge. His stride straight and clipped instead of fluid. Where’s the joke he always seems to be telling just by being present?

He’s normally so difficult to work with. I have to jump through hoops to get an answer. He twists and flips a problem until I come to the conclusion he wants me to, making it sound like it’s my idea. Distracts me when I’m trying to do my job or focus on the real world.

I didn’t have to convince him to hand over the summons.

I think back on it, to when he first offered me my job back. He was his normal self then. He stayed that way until I accepted it. Until I finished training. Until I started the job in Gravity Falls.

No.

He dropped it once. It was the second time I’d ever seen him let go of the persona. When he came to tell me about the new member of The Collective in the Breaking Furnace universe, he was serious.

Almost kind.

Since then, we’ve almost been on the same foot. He only hovers as much as the rules say he has to. He follows me on jobs, reminds me of deadlines, the bare minimum. Other than that, he stays out of my way with just a touch of snark.

“Here we are.”

His voice doesn’t reflect the change at all. Light, a laugh hidden beneath the words. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes when he stops in front of a wide door, though.

I reach for the door, but he grabs my arm. I freeze.

The last time he physically stopped me from doing something, I almost got myself killed. He would have been fine, he’s made of cement. I would have been fine eventually, would have woken up good as new. No one wants to die, though.

It stuck with me, I guess.

“Be careful,” he mutters. “They don’t take well to clever kids.”

He doesn’t let go right away, and that’s probably a good thing. I can’t move, though the desire to flee sears my blood. I shouldn’t have come. It would have been better to take my chances and ignore the council.

The thought flickers and dies when Kane releases me. He opens the door so I don’t have much choice but to walk in.

The door clicks shut behind me to leave me walking down a plush hall on my own. I have to squint in the low light, but there isn’t much to see. A crimson carpet and bare cream walls leading up to a door set at the end of the passage, that’s it.

Dark, warm, red. I hate the cliche of walking down a lion’s throat, but come on. Such a straight, plain hall leaves no room for surprises. It also gives me nowhere to hide if I lose my nerve.

But nothing happens. Nothing peels from the walls on the attack. No shadows move. The big, bad, tongue of a floor doesn’t constrict and drag me into the depths. I reach the luxurious door wound like a spring, but otherwise unharmed.

The room it spits me out in leaves me blind and uneasy. I pause when the door closes, frozen in place. My ears strain, panic pushing me to survey what I can how I can. I’m too aware of everything I’ve heard of the council to push down the fear clawing up my throat.

To believe the silence.

Families going missing. Friends put in the hospital. Children recruited. Punishments, all of it, against disobedient workers. Why would they call me here? If I did something wrong, why would they call for me instead of striking a name?

It occurs to me that I may have been looking at this wrong.

How many lists am I on?

I heard D joined the Scouts just days after I took Kane’s job offer. Half the Cube must be on his with how many strays he picks up. Then there’s the members of The Collective I saw on the way in. Haz, Jezebeth, who knows how many others? Is it too much to hope that they don’t care enough for me to be on theirs’?

I’m not the most rebellious out of us all. If Haz ignores an order or Jezebeth mouths off, could I be a target? If D refuses to hurt someone? If Gray’s out there, she vanishes at the drop of a hat. If it’s decided she needs incentive to stay here, am I on her list?

I know I could take out the council if I wanted to. I could level the entire base, leave a hole in the Cube so deep nothing could crawl out of it. It could be over, the lists and the jobs and the orders.

But I can’t—more accurately, I won’t.

I’ve been hasty before and had it come back to bite me. Destroyed Tchaikovsky’s original compound not long after I left, ended up with the man himself on my doorstep because I convinced myself he was gone.

If that happens with the Scouts, worse will happen than a single nightmare haunting me. I’ve made death too temporary here. No matter what I want, they would come back.

No.

I have to find out what they want like a good little soldier.

I take a miraculously steady breath and unclench my hands. I didn’t realize I’d curled them in so tight. I focus on the sting and imagine the half-moon impressions on my palm when I step out into the dark.

I don’t know if they’ve been watching me—I’m not sure if they could, it’s so dark—but a light flicks on before I take more than a few steps. Before my bearings can become more mixed up than they already are. Before I can trip up the stairs to the raised platform illuminated in the spotlight just in front of me.

I manage not to hesitate to climb onto the circular platform and settle in the center. The dramatics of the whole thing make it feel so staged it’s almost easy to pretend it’s all for show.

Just another performance.

I can do that.

I hold my head high to slide my gaze over the seven figures seated above me. I work to keep myself from showing even a flicker of the defiance or fear I feel, but I know better than to think I fully succeed. I’ve faced worse than the council, but I’ve cracked at less.

I probably should have put on my uniform before coming here, though I haven’t touched it once since receiving it. It might make me seem more conforming. Less like I’m spitting in their face just by existing.

At first glance the council members appear identical. Their white hoods block what little of the light focused on me hitting them, fabric masks cover what the hood doesn’t. Unlike the standard Scout uniform, aside from the arrogance of being white while the rest of us need the black uniforms to keep from being seen, their sleeves cover their arms, snug against the seams of their shorter gloves.

The longer I stand here in silence, though, the more I see.

The hood of the second to the right bulges, the telltale sign of horns or too much hair hidden underneath. Their mirror has a snout, their mask fitted to compensate. A shadow looms behind the center chair, and it takes me a second to recognize them as wings. On the far left, red eyes gleam through the shadows of the hood.

Devon.

I don’t linger on him, wary of revealing I know the guy. I doubt that would help either of us out any.

My chest hurts, the anxiety now physically painful. I don’t know what they’re waiting for. Am I supposed to say something? Am I supposed to suffer and wait? I can’t make a wrong move here.

I might be hot shit in the Cube, but this isn’t my territory. I have too much history of disobedience, too much power. I could sway half of this universe against them if I tried, they know I could walk out of here and unmake them with barely a thought.

But they also know I don’t enjoy ruining the ending of a good story.

And that’s the whole reason I’m here, isn’t it?

So I wait, hands at my sides, obedient. I won’t give them any reason to believe I’m a threat. They’re just as good at setting hidden plots in motions as I am.

“Perry.”

I incline my head rather than speak aloud. I don’t know if I’d be able to hide my surprise at Devon being the one to address me first.

“You have shown remarkable ability, considering how long you were—” he pauses and the others hiss a breath on cue. “—away.”

Do they rehearse these things?

“It’s as if you never left,” he purrs. “Aside from the rebellious attitude you seem to have shed.”

Rebellious attitude.

I lift my head, careful not to move too fast, and turn my eyes on Devon.

I’ve met him once, not long before I ‘went away.’ He was cold and completely ignored me until Kane left the room. His gaze felt like it could read everything about me, but all I could do was glare at him like the little shit I was when I was eight.

I can’t remember what he said, when he finally spoke to me, but it confused me. Something about Kane. I can almost find the shape of the words, but they’ve been lost to time.

The figure in the center chair shifts. Their wings catch the light, though not enough for me to really see them. It would be too easy to identify them if I did, I suppose.

“Your supervisor has hinted that your current classification is restricting both your efficiency and improvement.” The winged council member’s voice snakes through the room, high and smooth. Unfamiliar. “Knowing this, your council has seen fit to elevate you to your previous status.”

I raise my brows, but still say nothing. This isn’t what I expected. Not only am I not being threatened, I’m being promoted? Skipping a classification?

“Your talents are wasted in F-Class—see that you continue to impress.”

Ah, there’s the threat.

“Do you require any clarifications or reminders of what returning to D-Class will require of you?” a thin wheeze asks from the far right. “It has been several years, after all.”

I hesitate.

I remember how it works. My supervisor will fill my PDA with pre-screened jobs for me to choose from instead of handpicking them for me. I have a quota, a balance between jobs of different sizes, that I’m expected to fill. He doesn’t have to shadow me. He technically doesn’t have to contact me at all unless I’m behind, but expecting Kane to leave me alone is laughable.

This is highly unusual.

Both times I was promoted as a kid, Kane walked in and announced it by throwing me an official description of my new responsibilities and a new PDA equipped for them. As far as I know, the council doesn’t do this. This isn’t how this works.

But Kane warned me about being clever. What would they consider cheek? Would asking why they decided to give me the news be presumptuous? Would asking any question be ruled as another strike against me?

In the end, I ask when I’ll be getting my D-Class PDA. The one in my pocket will be useless in my new role.

The winged council member’s face mask strains in a smile, and I can’t help the feeling they’re laughing at me. I don’t move, sure that if I do I won’t be leaving this room.

“It was delivered to your supervisor moments ago,” they say. “You’d better go get it.”

It would be hard to miss a dismissal as pointed as that.

I dip my head in a nod, touch my left hand to my right shoulder in a hasty salute, and turn on my heel. It takes all of my self control not to run.

When I open the door to leave the room, I step out back in the fresh air of forest instead of the terrible hall. A handful of sticks falls from my hand, and I have to re-orient myself. The taste of fear still sticky in my throat, the dreamscape a thick web clinging to my skin.

I’ll have to deal with that later. I have to get the PDA from Kane. I have to sort through the terror keeping me from scooping up sticks with any kind of efficiency. I have to decide if the satisfaction at a promotion makes me a bad person or not.

Leaving a dream is always a lot harder than getting into it, and I’m starting to wonder if I ever really leave them anymore.

#writing #madd #maddart #in between collections #my writing #this one turned out really good #i hope #!! we're almost to death sentence what the fuck #i cant believe it

[quartusbellum-blog]

SAMPLE APPLICATION

As promised, here is my application for the role of Marcus McKinnon. A couple notes before you read it: this app is not to be used as a guide on how to fill in the application. Every writer is different. I seem to favour long drabbles and bios in my own writing, but quantity is not a measure of quality, so you do you. It is purely an insight into how I plan to play Marcus. Secondly, any background information about Marlene and the McKinnon family can be adjusted to suit any Marlene players. 

ooc details

Name: Elva

Age: Twenties

Pronouns: She/her, they/them

Activity Level: I check the dash daily, and aim to post at least one reply a day. Obviously there’s the odd day where I don’t manage that, but that is what I strive for as a bare minimum. I’ll be doing mod duties as well, but there should be plenty of time for interactions.  

Other: No triggers, but I will be mindful of other players’ triggers and tag accordingly. This application requires content warnings for: death, murder, racism, bigotry.

Acknowledgement: I acknowledge that the themes of this game may include triggering elements. I also acknowledge that my character may be harmed, coerced, or even killed (with player’s consent) during paras/events or may cause harm to or kill others during paras/events.

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general ic details

Name: Marcus McKinnon

Age: 19

Ships: I’m not going to lie, I would love to see Marcus in a relationship because he would be so spectacularly bad at it. He needs roadmaps for everything, but romantic and/or sexual attachments would throw him way off.

Gender/Pronouns: Queer cisgender male, he/him pronouns.

Face Claim: Noah Centineo.

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biography:

Marcus McKinnon is the kind of person who would never travel without a guidebook. He likes to plan out his whole itinerary, marking spots along the map so he always knows where he’s going and if he’s on track. It’s like he needs external permission before following a certain road. Even as a child, the youngest of the McKinnon children, he wouldn’t wander off the paths cut into the fields and dive into the tall grass after Marlene and their older brother, Matthew. There’s something comforting about routines and familiarity. It keeps Marcus’ grounded. Like if he just follows the rules and does what he’s supposed to, he’ll get where he needs to be.

It’s probably why Marcus finds the act of swimming so thrilling. Growing up near the coastline, Marcus equates the cry of seagulls and thick salty air with home. But he wasn’t always fond of the water. Marcus learned to swim in public pools, and the first time he was taken to the sea, it took his mother a full morning to coax him in. But once he was in to his waist, then his shoulders, letting his feet slip away from the seabed and the water carry him, Marcus couldn’t get enough. In the water there are no paths to walk. The rules are different, no ground beneath your feet, only invisible currents, the kiss of the tide on sand as it draws in then bids it farewell again. It’s one of the few instances in which Marcus can let go and just exist in the moment, no thought for what comes next beyond the setting sun or wind picking up; just the elements and him, water warm against his skin, and his own muscles burning as he swims, proving himself a worthy match for the sea.

Needless to say, Marcus isn’t fond of surprises. At school, he would ask numerous questions before any important assignment or exam, feeling blindsided when the homework proved too difficult. He was never a particularly good student. His anxiety made it hard to concentrate, the information hard to take in, and in his frustration Marcus found it easier to simply slack off altogether. He turned to his Hufflepuff peers for permission or approval rather than teachers. Marcus never went his own way, never paved a path of his own. Not until war came knocking and he had to.

Marlene and Matthew had fought in the Order, while Marcus was merely grateful he didn’t have to; grateful that school kept him safe. Then he graduated, and the world rapidly descended into chaos. Dumbledore captured, the Ministry taken over, the Order hunted. His parents, Matthew, and Marlene, all murdered by vampires in Voldemort’s service. Marlene survived in the end, but not before Marcus watched her die like the others. Now she’s a sister who feeds off humans; who fed off him. Marcus loves her, would do anything for her. But she walks a path he wishes never to join her on.

Two weeks after losing their family, Marcus split from Marlene. He didn’t want to live as a fugitive, always running for his life, never knowing what tomorrow might bring. And though he didn’t admit it to Marlene, he didn’t want to live with werewolves and vampires, even if they weren’t the ones who killed their family. He wanted to go home. He wanted back in magical Britain. And so Marcus persuaded Marlene it was where he would be most useful, that he would gather information for the Radical Alliance but he couldn’t live with them. He returned to magical Britain where he was promptly arrested and interrogated by Death Eaters at the Ministry, but being a halfblood who showed little resistance, a mere boy grieving for his lost loved ones, repellent but no real threat, he was pardoned on the condition that he serve the Dark Lord faithfully for the remainder of his days. Only a few weeks later, Marcus’ arm was tattooed with the Dark Mark.  

It was a mistake, or so Marcus had thought in the first weeks after his return. His parents’ resistance to the Dark Lord--their shame, as it was remembered-- and Marlene and Matthew’s involvement in the Order; everyone seemed to know Marcus’ history, and as a consequence many refused to hire him. Nevermind that he was marked and that he walked with Death Eaters. Marcus spent the first few months taking whatever job he could get, dishwasher, nightclub toilet cleaner, pet sitter to some of the biggest pesks in the world of magic, test subject for potioneers, sometimes even dinner for hungry vampires looking for a consenting victim. For a time he lived in the ruins of his old home, the burned down cottage by the sea. But as the winter came, it was leave or freeze to death. Marcus could have followed his family then, but between the familiar and the unknown, Marcus will always choose the familiar, and in this case that was life.

Marcus moved from one dingy apartment to another, always thrown out of at the drop of a hat, sofas of sort-of friends from whatever job he was working at the time, until finally, a room he rents on the third floor of a crooked building on a winding side-street just off Diagon Alley. Marcus has the Malfoys to thank for that. They’d been trying to recruit him for some time, halfblood Marcus, just needy and gullible enough to let himself be preyed upon, still intelligent and attractive enough to be worth their time. It was the hope of his name on a lease that finally persuaded him to join the Silent Daggers. He needed help and they were offering it in the form of a recommendation for the position of Wizengamot Administrator. Marcus can finally afford a steady life, but it all hinges on his loyalty to the Malfoys. They haven’t tried to exploit his position yet, but Marcus has seen too much cruelty to think they did it out of sheer kindness. And yet it saved him, giving him a home, (a place for Marlene to run to if she’s ever desperate,) an income, something resembling a life even if it doesn’t feel like one, the hole left behind by his family’s murders too big and all-encompassing. Marcus owes them.

He feels stretched thin, his allegiances pulled between the Dark Lord whose mark he bears, Narcissa and Lucius he’s sworn to, and Marlene. Marcus has no map for this life. It died with his parents and Matthew and all the other victims of the first war. But Marcus needs one. Maps don’t just show Marcus where to go. They show him how to get back.

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my character is:

Please Describe a Belief your character has that is wrong. Alternatively: How is your character lying to themselves (and how is is it shown externally).

Marcus is kidding himself that he went back and joined the Death Eaters for Marlene. In his arguments, he emphasised how much good he could do from the inside. But Marcus’ reasons were more selfish than he will let himself believe. He’s afraid of Marlene, as he’s afraid of all vampires. The fact that they’re related and that he’s known her all his life doesn’t change that; he feels safer in the Death Eaters than in the Radical Alliance, because they’re not known vampires. This is partly PTSD, and partly racism, but either way, Marcus can’t be around the Radical Alliance long before the scar on his shoulder, a bite from Marlene he acquired the night she turned, begins to itch, then ache, until all Marcus can think about are those fangs, his dead family lying in the grass. Marcus doesn’t want to be like this, but he can’t overcome it without facing up to it first.  

Please Provide a description of Your Character’s Job.

Wizengamot Administrator. Since leaving Hogwarts and the tragedy that befell him afterwards, Marcus’ main ambition has been to stay alive, and to remain in the wizarding world as long as possible. To get a flat of his own, earn enough to pay the bills, and if he can feed himself too, even better. None of that was possible for long before the Malfoys became a common presence in his life. Marcus knows he owes it to them. Lucius and Narcissa might be tactful but the message is clear; he’s in their debt. Marcus doesn’t know when he’ll be expected to pay up, and for now, he lets himself enjoy the small comforts, food in his belly, a roof over his head, a bed instead of some moth-eaten sofa, quiet. He is an Administrator in the Wizengamot Administration Services, meaning he carries out the secretarial work for the Wizengamot, maintaining court documents, scheduling hearing dates, managing the Wizengamot members’ schedules and carrying out the administration of all legal proceedings. In this position at the Ministry, Marcus is well-situated to one day study to be a solicitor, but he’s already pretty valuable as an administrator. More than once, Marcus has been asked to reveal to the other Daggers what information has crossed his desk. He is also in a position to corrupt information, though as of yet Marcus has yet to be asked to do so, nor had the nerve to take that initiative himself. For not only might his position benefit the Silent Daggers, but it could benefit the Radical Alliance too.

ooc questions

Writing Sample:

Marcus breathed on his fingers, rubbing his palms together. His cloak was second-hand, threadbare, and beneath it he was shivering. He’d need a better one before long if he was going to keep being called out for long cold nights outside. Nights spent waiting, hunting, focusing on the task ahead to keep his thoughts from wandering; to dull the constant remembering.

A rattle from behind the bins made Marcus flinch. Never had he been stationed alone. Now that the Death Eaters didn’t operate in secret, now they were legitimate subjects carrying out their duty to society, they didn’t have to hide their intentions and could travel in packs. So where were they, whoever they were?

Every sound and shifting shadow caught Marcus’ attention. He couldn’t stand still; paced the length of the chained gates separating him from a humming train line. And he was cold. So cold.

His summons had arrived as soon as he sat down at his desk that morning, coal black paper folded into an airplane. It used the space bar of his typewriter as a landing strip. The message was simple: patrol duties, 8:00pm, Harrogate Train Station. Whether his mark burned due to some magic carried in the paper or because he’d simply imagined it, Marcus could never tell. He slid the paper into his pocket, where it felt like it was burning a hole through the fabric, he was persistently aware of it.

A train blasted through the platform behind him and all of a sudden he was reeled backwards, a gag spelled across his mouth. He drew his wand, but in the same second the spell dissolved and laughter filled his ears.

He threw the first curse that came to mind, the air exploding with a gush of water. It hovered in the air as it met a blocking spell, then dropped to the ground with a splash. White stars marred Marcus’ vision and he coughed.

“Evening, McKinnon.” Alecto Carrow stood before him, robes shining like satin under the streetlights. Everything about her made Marcus feel mocked.

“Are we back at Hogwarts now?” he asked, rubbing his lips with rough fingers. He spat on the ground. “Who are we waiting for?” As much as he didn’t enjoy his outings with Death Eaters like Carrow, he was glad to see her, and in her usual spirits. Any more time standing alone like that and he’d start to believe he had a bull’s eye on his back. His eyes slid past Carrow to a silhouette peeling away from the darkness, a man with ragged clothing, dirty skin, imperiused from the looks of him. And a werewolf, or at least associated with one, judging by the silver scars slashed across his face.

“Radical Alliance?” he asked through the roar of panic rising in his head. His mind strayed towards Marlene, hoping she was inside, and that she was safe; knowing that she wasn’t, even if she was a thousand miles from this town.

“Close enough.” Carrow whispered into the man’s ear. Marcus leaned forward hoping to catch a word. Nothing. The werewolf walked towards the gate, and begun to climb. When he tumbled onto the other side, he headed straight for the tracks. Then stopped. “Come along, McKinnon.” Carrow began to walk away.

“Wait.” Marcus’s grip on his wand tightened--sickly yellow sparks hissed from it’s tip. “You’re just going to leave him there? He’ll-- when a train comes...”

Carrow didn’t spare her victim another glance, turning around only to glare at Marcus. “Would you rather curse him dead?” After a moment’s silence, she let out a quiet scoff and kept walking. “We don’t have time for this, McKinnon. There are other wolves in Harrogate.”

Marcus turned to the tracks and the werewolf standing like a statue, eyes fixed ahead. A soft, dreamy expression held his face captive; if he knew deep down that something about this was amiss, his face didn’t betray him. It sickened Marcus, to see him so at peace. He stepped toward the tracks, but something stopped him from going all the way. Shove him off the tracks, he thought. Break his legs if you have to. Bones heal. 

But the mark, his arm, branded forever; the cut, binding him to the Malfoys; his flat, the warmth of his bed, food in his fridge, a job, a life. It was a package deal. He couldn’t have one without the other.

“Smart boy,” Carrow said as he stepped into line beside her. Marcus could hear the smirk in her voice; that was how well he’d come to know her. And she him, apparently. She reached a hand towards his hair, knocking his hood off as she ran her fingers through it. Marcus jerked out of her reach, hatred boiling up inside him, and, with it, relief that at least it wasn’t him standing on those tracks staring death in the face.

Exploration:

One thing I’m always eager to explore in fiction is war and belonging to an army as a means to financially bettering one’s life. How political groups prey on vulnerable or desperate individuals to create destructive forces in society. Marcus was overwhelmed by his new circumstances. Those first few months when Marcus was utterly alone, desperate, and striving to return some normalcy in his life, define who he is today. He got a lucky break--but at what cost? Everything he does is to ensure he doesn’t go back to that.

There are things Marcus does to maintain his quality of life. And then there are the things he does because that’s the person he’s becoming. I’ve played Marcus as a wholesome and naive character, a member of the Order of the Phoenix. In this game, I would like to see how far Marcus will go as a Death Eater and a Silent Dagger. He’s currently lacking strong attachments to any one group, and he doesn’t possess a firm awareness of who he is. He’s in pain and he doesn’t know where to direct it. As such, he’s easy to manipulate. And he’s learning bad habits. This could lead him down an extremely dark path, which I would relish the opportunity to explore. But I would also like to explore the opposite side of this one. I would like to see Marcus forging attachments to conflicting individuals or groups. The messier the better. He doesn’t like surprises, but how does he handle the pleasant ones?

Marlene and sibling drama. This is part of the reason I chose Marcus, so I could get the sibling drama I so crave. I want siblings who squabble, but also fight their enemies together. I set up Marlene as an assassin type character, with a desire for vengeance. Does Marcus play any role in this, tipping her off to where her victims are? If he gets in trouble, would he ask for her help? What shape does their relationship take now that they’re both close acquaintances with death? I imagine that they’re closer than ever, being the only surviving McKinnons, but I want to see plenty of friction between these two. They are fighting for opposite groups after all, even though Marcus assures Marlene he keeps no secrets. They love each other, but do they trust each other?

The Silent Daggers are currently secret, and they’ll remain this way for a time, probably until we get more players. But I would rather like to see the Death Eaters split once and for all, with Voldemort completely out of the picture. What happens if Voldemort is undone, with the Silent Daggers standing at the ready? I’m not sure what all the pieces are yet, but I would like to see how the magical world is reshaped and groups merge, or dissolve, or fracture. It’s something I’ll be thinking about, at least.

Confronting his questionable attitude towards vampires. Marcus doesn’t think less of muggleborns, but his opinion of vamps is shaped by his experience, and its not exactly kind. What will happen when he discovers he’s been allied to a vampire all along? If he ever discovers Narcissa is more than just wix, Marcus will have to confront his false belief, and by extension his grief. It’s that latter part that means he doesn’t want to.

Extras:

Aesthetic: [ x ]

#quartusbellumaccept #marcus mckinnon bio

[loudlytransparenttrash]

This Week Within Our Colleges: Part 17

UC-Berkeley students protested their own exam and demanded a "take-home essay with significant time to prepare" in its place. “Our well-beings are being put on the line because of the emotional, mental, and physical stress that this university is compounding with what is already going on in our everyday lives,” the student protestors cry. They go on to claim that their professor is unqualified to teach because he’s a white man, and after nearly four minutes of non-stop bitching, one student said he just wanted to take his exam, which got him named a “white boy with privilege” by the protestors. Just as the group was leaving, one stayed behind to tell off the rest of the class, “I don’t know why you’re still, like, sitting down. I really don’t understand. Y’all can take your fucking test, but people are dying out there. Y’all can take your test, but this university is protecting white supremacists, and y’all are protecting them too.” 

Stevens Institute of Technology students are demanding that the school completely rename a building named after Republican Greg Gianforte, who paid for the academic center to be built. The school agreed to change its name to highlight Gianforte’s wife and parents although the students want his surname removed from the building completely. The students are hoping to raise $20 million, the same amount donated by Gianforte, to buy out the building and rename it themselves, however, the students have only raised about $1,500.

The University of Wisconsin, Madison students are demanding for a disclaimer to be added on an Abraham Lincoln statue accusing him of genocide. Katrina Morrison, chair of the Associated Students of Madison, said that while she appreciates “Lincoln’s role in creating land-grant institutions,” she supports a plaque on his statue to recognize what she called “his brutality towards indigenous people.” “We want a plaque because we want the university to recognize his part in the massacre and killing of innocent people.” Mariah Skenandore, co-president of an indigenous student organization, likewise supported the measure, saying the university doesn’t “acknowledge the impact that it is having on their students” by not having the plaque in place. 

Seattle University's law school withdrew its sponsorship of a debate over illegal immigration in fear exposing students to “painful” conservative viewpoints. The goal of the debate was to examine and talk about DACA. More than 200 students signed a petition demanding that the school not host the event, calling it “hateful xenophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric“ and both “harmful and unsafe” for the school’s undocumented students. Following the petition, law school dean Annette Clark announced that the institution would no longer sponsor the debate as part of its “Social Justice” duties. 

University of Oregon students forcefully disrupted a speech by the school’s president as he attempted to outline how the school plans to put a massive $50 million donation to use. He was prevented from coming onto the stage by students shouting chants such as “Nothing about us without us!” and cries of fascism and Nazis. President Michael Schill was instead forced to stay in his office and make a video announcement to the students, where he promised the money would help fund a new Black Cultural Center, which includes tutoring and support staff for black students.   

A University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor told her class that Trump may have played a role in encouraging the mass shooting days earlier. Tess Winkelmann was captured on video telling her students that Trump has only encouraged violence since being president and violence is a consequence to his words. Winkelmann boasts about her early warnings that Trump was going to end up getting people killed, “When he got elected, I told my classes three semesters ago, some of us won’t be affected by this presidency, but others are going to die. Other people will die because of this.” She also accused Trump of white nationalism and “threatening nuclear violence against North Korea.” 

Two Mount Allison University professors wrote an article arguing that white students from Western countries need to take workshops to confront their "white fragility" and “white privilege” before going on study abroad trips. If students fail to critically reflect upon their fragility, the professors warn that they risk perpetuating “harmful outcomes” to these countries and could possibly “overlook and perpetuate racism.” To fight this, they recommend robust “pre-departure programming and preparation” for white students. Though the professors warn that this training may not be enough to fully address students’ white fragility. “The antidote to white fragility is on-going and life-long, and includes sustained engagement, humility, and education,” they conclude.

A Pennsylvania State University-Brandywine professor criticized her students for believing in “whiteness ideology” which includes acknowledging “if I work hard, I can be successful” and that “everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve success.” Angela Putman designed a comprehensive three-day seminar on “white privilege” for her students, and became concerned when she realized most students have been “socialized to believe that we get to where we are through our own individual efforts.” Instead, she claims, our fate is decided by “racism and whiteness functioning in various contexts, the powerful influence of systems and institutions, and the pervasiveness of whiteness ideologies within the United States.” Once students “learn more,” Putman hopes that they will “resist perpetuating and reifying whiteness through their own discourse and interactions,” and learn to fight “manifestations of racism and whiteness within U.S. institutions and systems.”

Members of the Black Student Union at the University of Vermont forced their way in to the president's office this week to present a set of demands. In addition to "mandatory diversity training" for all faculty and frat/sorority members, the students also demand increased funding for non-whites and expulsion of students who commit "hate crimes" such as removing a BLM flag. The ultimatum concludes by demanding the administration renames an on-campus building named after George Perkins, an environmentalist who served in the Abraham Lincoln Administration. “If the University of Vermont is truly ashamed of its disgustingly racist history, then the name of this building needs to be changed.” The group was originally told that University President Tom Sullivan was unavailable, but they took it upon themselves to barge their way in.

A group of professors recently warned college administrators that “diversity educators” risk “burnout and fatigue” from “the emotional weight” of their jobs. Seven diversity educators from a “predominantly white research institutions” were interviewed, and they found that many of the subjects described suffering from “burnout” and “racial battle fatigue” from their microaggression prevention efforts. This burnout is caused by diversity educators’ “consistent exposure to various microaggressions,” noting that microaggressions can be described “as forms of assault and torture.”

UC Riverside student Edith Macias became hysterically outraged when she saw a male student wearing a MAGA hat. She abused him and stole his hat, saying it represents genocide and “freedom of speech is genocide, homeboy.” The butch Mexican goes on to say that stealing his property is no big deal because the student’s ancestors stole land, later calling him a white boy. Liberal students rallied around Macias and defended her actions to take the MAGA hat, which they say represents “a violent white supremacist regime.” They also demand UC administration to “pay for alternate housing accommodations for Macias while simultaneously covering her current housing costs” and “grant Macias amnesty and protection from any student or legal charges.” The students go on to demand for the school to release a statement against “white supremacist violence,” as well as one in support of sanctuary campuses. 

California State University, Long Beach is looking for a new professor to teach classes on “gender variant theories.” The new hire will be asked to develop courses on topics such as queering gender, queer studies, feminist transnationalism, trans feminism, transmigration, and gender variant theories. Notably, the Women’s Studies Department which invents these bizarre courses, also offers a variety of other feminist courses, including one on “the social construction of masculinity” another titled “lesbian histories” and a class on “queer spirit.” 

Swarthmore Indigenous Students Association burned the American flag and issued a set of demands, including the removal of the flag from campus. The demands called on Swarthmore College to “admit and recruit native students” and for the school to create a fund to pay for flights “to and from home” for all students who are unable to afford travel expenses. The demands were made public at one of their flag-burning events. “We burn the American flag not just for ourselves, but for our ancestors who died because of that flag. We burn it for our indigenous siblings across the globe and for all of the people across the globe exploited by the United States and other Western imperialist states. We burn this flag because we want you to know it’s not just you who is angry and fighting against this oppressive apparatus, we are too.” 

A University of Connecticut professor is calling for a “more expansive inclusion of feminism” by colleges to help female students recognize the oppression they face. Cristina Mogro-Wilson surveyed over 100 female students and found that the overwhelming majority of them do not believe that “discrimination and subordination” are issues in women’s lives. The findings were deeply problematic, she contends, because without a sense of their own oppression, female students may be disinclined to protest in order to “create change.” Worrying about the potential of a “post-feminist standpoint among younger women who no longer see discrimination against women as being a salient issue,” Mogro-Wilson calls for even more feminism and intersectionality into the school’s curriculum. It’s really sad to watch old feminists beating a dead horse, desperately trying to keep their paychecks coming in. 

Another feminist professor joined the dead horse flogging, saying more feminism needs to be taught to female students in response to their "waning attention to feminist concerns.” Katherine Cruger from Chatham University says she has noticed students “wary to acknowledge that they could be suffering at the hands of an imperialist, white-supremacist, capitalist patriarchy.” We’ve heard of “race fatigue,” now Cruger cites “feminist fatigue” as a possible reason why female students aren’t bothered by their so-called oppression. Cruger says she was disturbed when one female student said she is “sick to death of feminism.” To combat this dissidence, she encourages students to learn how to better appreciate feminist activism through more extensive teachings of feminism in the classroom, noting that without this activism, “we will be stuck in a heteronormative, racist society that never grows.”

Two Seattle Pacific University professors argue that it is necessary to redefine science in order to combat "white male privilege," which they believe is the primary reason that more men are interested in and excel in STEM fields. According to the pair, professors must work to "disrupt privilege" in their classrooms by de-emphasizing "male-socialized traits such as independence, competition, and individual victories." The professors also assert that science has been used as a tool of racial oppression, complaining about “science disproportionately advantaging white people.” To combat this, they call upon fellow professors, especially those who are white males, to “disrupt privilege” in their classrooms by “recognizing their own privilege” and coming to see themselves as “agents of change who can contribute to the disruption of systems of unfair advantage."

The University of Missouri released a set of guidelines on how to host inclusive events, asking students to consider having “a counselor present” for “potentially triggering” events - their words, not mine. The guidelines lists dozens of questions students should ask themselves during the planning stages, including, “If my event is potentially triggering, do I have a counselor present?” and “do I need to create a ‘safe space’ for this event?” Another series of questions warns students making advertisements for their event to be “conscious of colors and how they can be exclusionary or stereotypical” while considering the language used on advertisements as it “can potentially be biased.” Another set of questions focuses on the “decorations” used at events, which students should assure “aren’t culturally appropriative or misrepresenting to other cultures” by “doing my research on a culture I am attempting to appreciate.”

The president of Albion College says that it is “appropriate” for people of privilege to feel “uncomfortable.” President Mauri Ditzler made the remark during a meeting with a conservative student who was harassed and abused by protestors after he made talking points derived from Ben Shapiro quotes. Ditzler came out in solidarity with the protesters, lecturing the conservative student about how he was “only made to feel uncomfortable for a day,” while “many of those demonstrating feel uncomfortable every day.” He goes on to say that while the violent protestors made him feel uncomfortable himself, this discomfort was actually “an example of his own privilege.” 

A group of protestors shut down a discussion on “civil discussion” (the irony) at the University of California, Los Angeles, forcing the event to be relocated. The video shows one female shouting, “We need to actually organize ourselves to create a political crisis to get this fascist regime from power,” claiming the “country was founded on genocide and slavery” and “was never fucking great.” “We can’t normalize fascism,” she proceeded to scream, leading audience members to stand and raise a fist with her in protest... “Stand up because this is what the good Germans were facing. This is what the people in Nazi Germany were facing,” she declared as another protester joined in, eventually leading the unoriginal chant of “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” As the auditorium emptied, protesters repeatedly shouted “November 4, it begins. Trump and Pence must go!” referencing Antifa’s planned uprising on this date where they intend to create havoc “day and night” until Trump resigns...

The University of Maryland-Baltimore County Women’s Lacrosse team has been labelled “racist” and “ignorant” after the team’s twitter account liked a tweet by President Trump which he wrote about honoring the American flag which men and women have fought and died for. UMBC’s Black Student Union noticed the Women’s Lacrosse team’s twitter account's grave wrongdoing, telling them, “You’re welcome to come to a meeting and voice your ignorance and blatant disregard for students within your campus let alone your own team. If you are going to be racist please come correct.” The women’s team twitter account was later entirely deleted after other black students jumped on the bandwagon of calling them racists. 

Brown University students voted to end the purchase of feminine hygiene products from the company “Tampon Tribe,” due to cultural appropriation. They claim that the company “affected them really deeply” due to both “the name and some of the branding as well.” One student organizer said she “had concerns about Tampon Tribe’s name over the summer when they first considered using the company,” but pushed on after gaining assurance the company had “Afro-diasporic and indigenous identities” as leaders. Fatal mistake. They soon realized that it was still cultural appropriation to buy these tampons, so they stopped purchasing them immediately. 

A University of Southern California professor argues that condemning protesters who disrupt and shut down conservative speakers can reinforce “white supremacy.” Charles Davis believes because the protesters are disproportionately “students of color” or “students representing other marginalized groups,” any attempt to stop protestors from shutting down these events, it’s actually the protestors who are made to feel unsafe. Davis says these protesters are simply people who “use disruptive tactics to shut down hate speech and engaged in resistance against white supremacy.” Instead of criticizing the protesters, Davis encourages to “spend substantive time listening to their concerns” as they’re justified because “colleges have exacerbated racial issues by allowing the presence of white supremacy on-campus.”

A pair of student groups at Kent State University, including one named WOKE (World Of Kolored Empowerment... I’m not even kidding), staged a protest where they all stood in a circle, and then took a knee. According to the group’s flyer, the students took a knee for “the Dreamers, the brutalized by the authority, the ones who have been under and misrepresented” and “the oppressed who don’t believe that a change will come." One student who attended the demonstration said he felt it was his “duty as someone who has privilege to express my voice," while another had tears streaming down her face as she held a sign to protest against the hurricanes in Puerto Rico.

Another group of students at Cornell University took a knee against white supremacy and whatever else they were displeased with when they woke up. While the kneeling only lasted two minutes, the rally was filled with speeches covering topics of white supremacy, racism, and privilege. “Our society is steeped in white supremacy. Why should we expect Cornell, an enterprise built on stolen land, to be any different?” Professor Russell Rickford said during his speech to the crowd of students. He went on to show his communist ties, saying the school is a white supremacy because it supports “hierarchies of privilege, upon which global capitalism rests.” He later led chants of “free Palestine!” which the student drones eerily repeated collectively. 

Students at Reed College are protesting a required humanities class for freshmen that focuses on texts from the great thinkers of ancient Greece and Rome, saying that “students taking Western Civilization courses is harmful” because “the course in its current iteration draws from predominantly white authors.” Remember this is a course on ancient Greece... The protest group claims the class should be “reformed to represent people of color” in a list of 25 demands, which also includes “anti-oppression workshops, scholarships for black students, paid positions for black students and the hiring of more black faculty.” The protestors stormed the class and overtook the stage, while giving the class a lecture of their own and vowing to hold silent protests during every lecture. The student activists also brought in mental healthcare advocates for students who have reported having “panic attacks” due to the course material.

Two feminists at Columbia University are campaigning for the class presidency by promising free “Lego, bubble-wrap, and Play-Doh” to classmates. “Do you want Legos, Bubble Wrap, and Play-Doh?” asks their campaign flyer, which is posted around campus. “If so, vote for the STEMinists” - the name the feminist duo, Michael and Riya, have given themselves. If elected, the pair hopes to sponsor events focused on women’s empowerment, but they’re also set on showing students that school is fun! “We would do events to destress. For example, we'd create a Lego area and it'll be fun. One of the activities we also plan on doing is giving out free Bubble Wrap.” 

A bulletin board at Kent State University residence hall is urging students to “stop cultural appropriation this Halloween” by eschewing costumes based on other cultures. According to the display, cultural appropriation occurs whenever somebody “adopts aspects of a culture that’s not their own," particularly if the person is part of a "dominant culture," which yes, is just another way to say white people. Towson University announced that is has joined “Ohio University and universities across the country in reminding our community this Halloween that ‘we’re a culture, not a costume.’” DePauw University also publicized the campaign, telling students that “stereotypes hurt.” Similarly, Central Michigan University announced plans to host an October 25 event dedicated to ending stereotypical costumes in a recent Facebook post, encouraging students to “Get involved and take a stance against the appropriation of costumes.” 

A professor at the University of Illinois has become highly concerned that algebra and geometry perpetuate “unearned white privilege” because “terms like Pythagorean theorem and pi” give the impression that math “was largely developed by Greeks and other Europeans.” She also worries that teaching more advanced math can perpetuate discrimination against minorities, especially when they do worse than their white counterparts. “On many levels, mathematics itself operates as whiteness. There are so many minorities who have experienced microaggressions from participating in math classrooms, where people are judged by whether they can reason abstractly,” the professor states. She also wonders why math professors get more research grants than gender and women’s professors.

A teaching assistant at the University of Pennsylvania admitted to intentionally ignoring white male students and will only call on them if she has to during class discussions. “I will always call on black women students first. Other POC get second tier priority. White women come next. And if I have to, white men.” Close your eyes and think of the most stereotypical man-hating, smug feminist with a man’s haircut and you’ve just pictured Stephanie McKellop. She was not happy when the school issued a statement condemning her blatant classroom bias, saying, “I had the cute idea that Penn could defend me against Nazis.” No love, Penn has an obligation to defend its students against sleazeballs like you. 

#college

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Selina Kyle

Selina Kyle is Catwoman, a costumed adventurer who's been both a super-hero and super-villain. Beginning her career as a thief and enemy to Batman, she later turned to crime-fighting and became part of the Batman Family. Despite her villainous nature, she works hard to protect the East End of Gotham City.

Selina Kyle's early life was defined by tragedy. When she was just a girl, her brutalized mother Maria committed suicide and her violent father Brian drank himself to death soon after. Selina was separated from her younger sister Maggie when remanded to the Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Center, an abusive state home for orphaned or delinquent girls. Eventually, she escaped the Center and tried pickpocketing the crowd at a carnival outside Gotham City but failed. She was caught by the man who ran the place and he offered her to join the carnival. Selina agreed and soon she learned the art of contortionism, gymnastics, magic and trickery. Using her new learned skills, Selina also improved her pickpocketing skills. When the owner of the carnival died in a tragic accident, Selina decided to take her chances on the streets of Gotham.

Selina started out as a prostitute working in the East End. She watched over an underage girl named Holly Robinson while working for their abusive pimp Stan. Detective George Flannery sent her to Ted Grant, who taught her how to fight after Stan beat her up. When she saw Batman in action for the first time, he inspired her to become Catwoman. Selina returned the beating Stan gave her and took Holly with her. To distinguish herself, she would claw the faces of her victims starting with Carmine Falcone. Stan kidnapped her sister Maggie Kyle which led to his death when fighting Catwoman. Batman confronted her about this, but she simply kissed him before wounding his chest, allowing her to flee. Holly was left with the nun Maggie to be raised in a convent. Following a distortion of the time stream, Selina's history as a prostitute was erased. She survived on the streets as a petty thief.

Catwoman's status as hero or villain was always fluid. She had her own moral code and had occasionally teamed up with Batman and other heroes against greater threats, even saving the lives of the entire Justice League on one occasion. She represented a gray area in Batman's otherwise black and white life where the line between good and evil blurred, and his attraction to her stemmed from the perception that, in her own way, she's a female version of himself: another dark creature that prowls the night.

Selina met an acquaintance, Bruce Wayne, at the wedding of Johnny Viti, a member of the Falcone Crime Family. The pair instantly hit it off, though Selina was unaware of Bruce's identity as Batman. Catwoman attempted to rob the home of mob boss Carmine Falcone that night, but was interrupted by Batman and the two were forced to flee. Falcone placed a bounty on both the Bat and the Cat, offering one million dollars to whoever could kill either one of them. When the Holiday Killer first struck in Gotham, Catwoman began her own investigation but was soon discovered by Batman. She offered her assistance in resolving the case, which Batman reluctantly accepted.

Catwoman followed Batman from a distance as he unraveled the mystery, while in their civilian identities Selina grew closer with Bruce - until he fell under the mind control of Poison Ivy. Catwoman realized Ivy was responsible and rescued Bruce from her clutches. She later jumped in to assist Batman while he was fighting Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter. Catwoman joined the other 'costumed freaks', led by a newly-turned Two-Face, in confronting Falcone for control of Gotham City. This led Batman to question where her allegiances truly lied, to which Catwoman responded that she was on the same side as always: her own.

The disturbed Mister Handsome targeted Catwoman, as he had dedicated his life to destroying beauty. When she was caught, he caged her with a monster as a sick allegory to Beauty and the Beast. However, he was unable to crush her spirit, and she gracefully defeated him.

Selina's neighborhood in Brideshead was taken over by a crimelord named Bracuda. Catwoman investigated his operation, as he had forced all of the legitimate shop-owners out. The corrupt cops on Bracuda's payroll got involved, and it turned into a riot. Catwoman fought Bracuda and forced him to flee, allowing her to take his valuable assets.

After Bane broke Batman's back, he started taking over the Gotham underworld. His henchmen tried to recruit Catwoman and have her work for Bane, but she refused the offer. Bane tried to learn Catwoman's identity, but she had hidden her birth name "Selina Kyle" behind dozens of aliases. Leopold sold her out. Catwoman's apartment was blown up by an assassin targeting Bane. The assassin fled to Santa Prisca, and she followed by hitching a ride on Bruce Wayne's private plane. Leopold told Catwoman that Bane had been defeated by a new Batman. Arizona was taken home by her parents, suffering from amnesia. Catwoman took out the assassin, inadvertently saving Santa Prisca's dictator. The dictator offered her protection, and she made a huge payload saving him from an attempted coup. When she returned to Gotham, she had Leopold killed for betraying her.

After this, Catwoman became involved with a group of activists called The "Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance". Working with them to prevent a terrorist attack, Catwoman stole a deadly toxic agent, which attracted the new Batman's attention. Catwoman realized that this was a different Batman and she tried to get away with the stolen chemicals, but the new Batman followed her all the way to a building in the middle of Gotham, where the police surrounded them, and Catwoman was left to confront them alone. Catwoman managed to escape and tipped off the location of the chemical agent to the police, after which she used Batman to distract the terrorists and claim a victory for her own agenda.

When the Apocalypse Virus broke out in Gotham, Catwoman was hired by the Penguin to track down a survivor named Kendall Stuart. She was forced to team up with Azrael and Robin against a bounty hunter named Tracker. They finally grabbed Stuart, but he was assassinated by the Order of St. Dumas. The group teamed up to find another survivor named Fong, but he killed himself when he met them. Catwoman tracked down the last survivor alone, a student named Leanore We in Miami, and draggged her back to Gotham. It was discovered that survivor blood was useless, but Leanore wanted to help anyway. Catwoman was inspired by this, and stayed to help until a cure is found.

Catwoman was stealing from a mall when the 7.6 earthquake hit. Despite her selfish inclinations, she worked hard to bring everyone to safety. While patrolling the city to stop looters, she met Poison Ivy. Ivy tried to control the vulnerable city with plants, and Catwoman barely managed to stop her.

Catwoman crossed paths with Batman once again after she made off with a briefcase containing ten million dollars which had been paid as ransom money to Killer Croc. While Batman was fighting him, Catwoman escaped with the briefcase, prompting Batman to chase after her. During the chase, Batman's wire was cut, causing him to fall to the ground and allowing Selina to return to the hideout of Poison Ivy, who had mind controlled her into stealing the money.

When Catwoman regained her senses, she met Batman again and offered her assistance in tracking down Ivy, who had relocated to Metropolis. She flirted with Batman and, for once, he gave into his attraction towards her and the two shared a passionate kiss.[52] Batman and Catwoman both found the whereabouts of Poison Ivy. Catwoman confronted her first, but called for Batman's assistance using a button he had given her. Together, the duo fought Ivy, until she revealed her own secret weapon: a mind-controlled Superman.[53] The two managed to escape, and quickly hatched up a plan to restore Superman's mind. Batman stalled Superman and lured him to the street, while Catwoman kidnapped Lois Lane and dropped her from the roof of the Daily Planet. In that moment, Superman was able to resist Ivy's mind control and rushed to save Lois. Batman, Catwoman and Superman tracked down Poison Ivy and had her arrested.

Following a conversation with Nightwing, Bruce was inspired to let Selina closer into his life and tell her about his true identity as Batman. Batman met with Catwoman at the Gotham Zoo and took off his mask. Bruce entrusted Selina to watch over Talia al Ghul while he confronted her father Ra's, who he believed to be behind his misfortunes as of late. The assassin Lady Shiva came to retrieve Talia on behalf of the League of Assassins, prompting Catwoman to fight Shiva. She was no match for the master assassin and was almost killed, had it not been for Talia's intervention. Catwoman returned to the Batcave with Batman and was attacked by Robin who was seemingly furious at her being let into Bruce's life; Selina was unaware that this was a ruse. She was later attacked by Huntress, who had been exposed to Scarecrow's Fear Toxin, and rescued Robin from Clayface, who had disguised himself as a revived Jason Todd. After Batman's defeat of Hush and the Riddler, who had orchestrated the entire ordeal, Catwoman met Batman as he mourned the death of Harold Allnut. Bruce began to doubt his mental clarity after a suggestion from Scarecrow that his mind had been manipulated, and questioned Selina's true intentions. Selina replied that until he learned to truly trust her they could never be together, and left Bruce alone.

Catwoman further proved herself as an ally of Batman when she fought alongside him and the League against the old Secret Society, of which she had once briefly been a member. Wounded, she was taken to the Batcave to recover. When Despero and a faction of brainwashed League members infiltrated the cave and succeeded in brainwashing Batman, Catwoman was able to send a distress call out to the unaffected League members. After a fierce struggle, Despero was subdued. However, this was something of a hollow victory, since all recognized that Despero was able to pit the JLA members against one another by drawing upon pre-existing animosities and distrust. In response to Batman's inquiry about her wounds, Selina departed the Batcave after curtly informing Batman that he had already "done enough."

Catwoman appeared to be completely reformed for a time and her love for Batman true (although brash and unpredictable). However, it became unclear if her reformation was of her own volition or the result of a mindwipe by Zatanna, a procedure known to deeply affect and, in at least one case, physically incapacitate its victims. Selina had no inkling that any villains had been mindwiped until Batman informed her otherwise, worried that her reformation may be due to mental manipulation.

An influx of supervillains seized control of the East End, leaving Selina with no choice but to join the new incarnation of the Secret Society. While her initial intentions were unclear, Selina shared her plans to infiltrate and destroy the cadre of East End villains with Batman.

Selina made a deal with a former criminal who had powers similar to Clayface that had promised to help her in exchange for his freedom. The man impersonated her, and allowed several villains to shoot and dismember him, giving the impression to the underworld that Catwoman was really dead (like Clayface, the man was able to survive what would otherwise be fatal wounds). Capitalizing upon the advantage which her "resurrection" provided her (the villains believing she had somehow managed to cheat death), Catwoman dismantled the new East End cadre of criminals, one villain at time. After she was done, Zatanna appeared at her side, informing her that she had some "bad news".

Selina Kyle was no longer Catwoman. She left the East End, and gave birth to a daughter named Helena. Holly Robinson took over as the new Catwoman while Selina, living under the alias Irena Dubrovna, turned her attention to caring for her daughter.

Though she took her role as a new mother quite seriously, Selina donned the costume for a run through the East End some days after Helena's birth. Having understandably gained a few pounds, Selina found that her costume is now a tighter fit. In addition, she was easily distracted by a common criminal. Although the situation was defused through Holly's opportune arrival, the fact that there were two Catwomen active in the city was caught on video. Selina returned home from her adventure to find that the mysterious movie aficionado Film Freak had deduced her alias. Joined by Angle Man, they grabbed Helena.

After rescuing her daughter, Selina convinced Zatanna to mind-wipe Film Freak and Angle Man in order to preserve her secret identity. Following the procedure, Angle Man turned himself in to the authorities; Film Freak, however, embarked upon a murderous rampage. Ted Grant informed Selina that Holly had been arrested for the murder of Black Mask; Selina infiltrated the police station and freed Holly. Finally defeating Film Freak, Selina returned home to find that Slam Bradley had deduced that Helena was Sam Bradley's child, and therefore his granddaughter.

Batman asked Catwoman to infiltrate the violent tribe of Bana Amazons during their attack. Posing as a criminal, Selina gained the Bana's trust and thwarted a terror attack aimed at causing mass casualties in Gotham City. Shortly afterwards, Selina invited herself to become the newest member of Batman's Outsiders. Catwoman and Batman also had a romantic relationship which they both tried to hide.

Selina, fearing the many dangers of a post-Batman Gotham, proposed that she, Ivy, and Harley Quinn team up, living together at a single base. Ivy agreed under one condition: using home-grown drugs to weaken Selina's resistance, Ivy demanded to know the identity of the true Batman. Time spent with Talia three years ago in Tibet had prepared Selina so would not relinquish the true ID of Batman under any circumstances. After the interrogation, Selina saw Harley with Bruce Wayne on TV. Catwoman told Poison Ivy she knew it was Hush in disguise.

After stealing the contents of a safe belonging to the Falcone crime family, Selina returned home to find Kitrina, a teenaged escape artist and Carmine Falcone's long lost daughter, breaking into her room. She attacked and subdued Kitrina, who told Selina that she had unknowingly stolen a map that detailed the location of the new Black Mask's underground bunker. Realizing that she could use the map to capture Black Mask and claim the 50 million dollar bounty on his head, Selina left Kitrina bound in a locked room so that she could keep the map for herself. She later called Batman to her house in order to turn the would-be thief over to the police, but discovers that Kitrina had managed to free herself and steal back the map. This impresses Selina, who mentioned that she had tied up the child using an "inescapable" knot that Bruce had shown her years earlier. Following a massive battle with Black Mask and his henchmen (which ended with neither woman being able to claim the bounty), Selina agreed to take on Kitrina as her new sidekick, Catgirl.

Selina was soon contacted by the mysterious Insider, who asked her to follow Vicki Vale and discover how much she knew about Batman and his allies' secret identities. With some help from Harley and Ivy, Selina finally got the evidence to prove that Vale was right about to discover the truth not only about Batman, but of the Gotham underground as well. After giving the required information to Insider, he subtlety revealed his true identity and Selina realized that Bruce Wayne had returned.

Once Bruce Wayne reclaimed the mantle of the bat, he established Batman Incorporated, a global team of Batmen. Selina accompanied him on a mission to break into Doctor Sivana's armory, and later traveled with him to Tokyo in order to recruit a Japanese representative for Batman Inc. Catwoman teamed up with Batman to stop Harley Quinn from breaking the Joker out of Arkham Asylum. After defeating Harley and the Joker, Catwoman told Poison Ivy that they were no longer friends, this after Ivy drugged her in an attempt to uncover Batman's identity. Shortly after, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn escaped and set off to pursue revenge on Catwoman for leaving them behind. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her. While they were fighting, Catwoman said that she saw good in them and only wanted to help. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape.

Powers 

Acrobatics: Selina is a gifted and accomplished athlete, with heightened acrobatic prowess. Her feats have been so amazing, one could argue that her athletic ability is somewhat superhuman.

Martial Arts: She was trained by the Armless Master in martial arts and by Wildcat in boxing and street-fighting. She is a dangerous, clever and resourceful fighter, known for precise, agile attacks and speedy getaways. Her formidable hand-to-hand combat skills are augmented by her cat-like speed, reflexes, balance, and flexibility. Catwoman has mastered the following martial arts styles:

Boxing

Capoeira

Hapkido

Jujutsu

Dragon Style Kung Fu

Karate

Stealth: Selina is as stealthy as any large cat. She has easily been able to sneak up on large groups of people and even other vigilantes on patrol. She shows marked prowess in this ability while she's on the prowl for her next job.

Thievery: Selina is a master thief, known throughout Gotham City for her burglary of cat-themed objects and/or gems and jewels of the highest quality. Hardly one to knock over a bank, Catwoman would rather break into the chairman's office and take his personal documents.

Disguise: To pull off her many capers, Catwoman resorts to disguises and aliases. She once posed as an old lady in order to steal a valuable piece of jewelry while on a cruise ship. Later, she posed as a night club goer in order to get acquainted with it's owners and return later to rob them.

Feline Empathy: Catwoman has a strong affinity for cats. Feline species tend to flock to her, accepting her almost immediately, recognizing somehow that she is not an enemy but a friend. This allows her to calm injured cats, train them, befriend them, and form strong bonds with them. These animals will even sometimes come to her defense when she is attacked. This has proved most beneficial, especially when it has involved big cats.

Catwoman has had many nicknames in the past, some of them include: The Cat, Plundering Kitten, Princess of Plunder and Madame Moderne.

Selina's alias, Irena Dubrovna, was inspired by the name of the main character in the 1942 film Cat People.

Verses

Selina Kyle v. Early Tragedy

This verse focus on teen Selina while still working as a prostitute and beginning her life of crime.

Selina Kyle v. Brideshead owner

After becoming the famous Catwoman, Selina takes over her old neighborhood from criminals.  

Selina Kyle v. Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance

Selina joins a group against terrorist working with them to prevent a terrorist attack, Catwoman stole a deadly toxic agent.

Selina Kyle v. Behind the Cowl

Selina Kyle has a life as a socialite where she donates quite a lot of money to zoo and others in need. 

Selina Kyle v. The Dream Life

It has finally happen, Bruce Wayne has finally asked Selina the big question and now they are married!

Selina Kyle v. No Longer a Street Cat

Selina decides to stop being Catwoman passing the mantra to Helena and start a vigilante life of her own.

Selina Kyle v. Irena Dubrovna

After giving birth to Helena, Selina decides to leave her old life and adopts a new name.

Selina Kyle v. Sirens of Gotham

tba

#Batman #Batman [Selina Kyle] #Female Character #non mutuals #face claim: Emeraude Toubia

[theimpossiblescheme]

Part 24/80 of my Female Rogues of Gotham City series

Many people in Gotham have only ever known Harley Quinn as the only woman in the Joker’s life, but the Clown Prince of Crime had actually gone through his fair share of henchgirls just like any other rogue. However, the cost of working at his side was considerably higher than it was for the rest of the Gotham underground—one false move or one wrong word could have the poor girl lying on the sidewalk with a bullet between her eyes or tied to a fire hydrant laughing hysterically, provided he didn’t simply abandon her to the dark and hostile streets.  Only the most capable survived unscathed.  And as assurance of their loyalty, he forced each young woman to give up something precious to her, thus swearing her old life away and binding herself to his side; if she ever broke that bond, she had better hide herself far away and hope the Joker never showed up to demand her return or to settle the score.

Queenie was the heiress to the biggest makeup manufacturer on the East Coast and had never known anything but luxury; her family liked to joke that she spent more time in a Sephora’s than her own crib.  But even with all of her beautiful trappings and lavish corporate parties, she eventually became bored with her own immense privilege, much to the annoyance of her father’s employees, and started expressing a desire to run away from home and see the world…a desire the Joker promised her he could make happen if she were willing to supply him with spiked cosmetics and a getaway car.  Eagerly accepting the offer and earning herself a reputation in the tabloids as a sort of spoiled Disney princess gone rogue saddled with a loathsome Prince Charming, Queenie became one of Gotham’s biggest scandals, but was quickly forgotten and discarded once her inevitable prison stay and new criminal record stripped her of all her glitz and glamor, even being disowned by the family she should have been more grateful for.

Susie seemed to have an almost perfect life as head cheerleader, secretary of the student council, and one of the most popular girls at Aaron Burr High School, but her meager home life and neglectful divorced parents left her feeling hollow and yearning for the beautiful things in life she had missed out on.  When the Joker promised her a place among his gang and rewards of fine fur coats and bottles of foreign perfume, she leaped at the opportunity, but soon found herself in an even more precarious situation, lecherously pawed at by the clown’s henchmen and facing the daily risk of death should she fail in her duties. A botched forced entry into Gotham Academy left her bleeding and delirious after the Joker had demonstrated his displeasure, but Susie found a sort of second home at this new school; some of the professors offered to shelter her from the law and her old boss under a new name as long as she could help pass on her musical and athletic talents to the students.

Jill had been in and out of foster homes for most of her childhood and teenage years until one of the Joker’s former henchmen took her in; their new home was cold and bare and less than ideal, but it was nevertheless a place where she could feel safe and taken care of, especially when her new father would bring home expensive stolen spoils from his criminal conquests.  But when the Joker decided to “get the band back together” and bring back new recruits for a strike on the Gotham Stock Market, she got to see what the crime scene was like up close…and she hated it. Jill came to loathe the Joker, and the clown took special glee in rubbing her nose into all the messy and unpleasant aspects of his exploits, even as he rewarded her good behavior with furs and fancy drinks, but she stayed out of loyalty to the man who had adopted her, even taking a bullet for him in a firefight at the steps of the Stock Exchange.

Cornelia also came from a broken home; her dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast went completely overlooked by her absentee mother and business-minded father, who owned a rather large locksmithing operation and wanted his daughter to be the spokesgirl and advertisement model.  So standing and looking pretty was all she ever knew how to do; even when the Joker offered her a chance for adventure and a change of scenery, she was always worrying about her appearance and what her family would think of her.  Her last job with the Joker was to break into her father’s storeroom and steal a box of priceless skeleton keys, but she accidentally tripped the alarm and ruined the whole scheme; after being beaten and abandoned by her gang and deathly afraid to go home again, Cornelia ran as far away as she could and eventually stumbled into a warehouse full of out-of-work rogues, who sympathized with her plight and offered to teach her a few tricks of the trade so that she might prove herself a valuable criminal ally after all.

Josie Miller was a modern Southern Belle and a gold-digger par excellence, extorting close to four million dollars out of her numerous wealthy dates and paramours across Gotham and only failing to capture the heart of Bruce Wayne.  Fortunately for her, the Joker was planning on trying again to crash Gotham’s economy, starting with its most rich and lucrative citizens, and hired her to seduce Wayne’s riches right out from under him; her charms worked so splendidly that the man even drunkenly proposed to her on the third date.  However, her new clueless crush also proved to be her undoing, as he found a man to pose as Josie’s “husband” and prove her less-than-honorable intentions; the ironic thing was that even as she was exposed, she was beginning to believe her own lies and genuinely fall for Wayne, even wishing that they might be together in another time.

Venus was once a historical reenactment and Ren Faire actress who had already garnered quite a bit of acclaim for her ability to disappear into a character and was on the verge of a theater career, but decided instead to try her hand at putting her skills to the test in the criminal scene. What started out as fun and games alongside the Joker turned into a near-bloodbath when he nearly crushed young Robin and Batgirl to death in front of her, and she was so utterly horrified that she ran away, intending to find Batman and turn the Joker in so that he could never hurt anyone, much less children, again.  She was able to get Batman to listen to her, but the Joker did not stay down; Venus now lives outside of the city, hiding fearfully from the criminal element, trying to get her life back on track, and pleading forgiveness for all the grief she may have caused innocent people.

Jane Towser was practically a professional muse, posing for sculptors and painters up and down the East Coast, attending gallery openings, and judging art contests; she had grown up around the strange and avant garde and courted the strange and exotic, but still found herself spellbound and completely fooled by the Joker’s counterfeit Pollack piece.  Convinced he was the next great artist she could attach herself to and clearly underestimating how dangerous he could be, she fawned over the “performance pieces” that were his deathtraps and disguises, but he soon tired of the attention and simply told her to “make herself useful”, making her rob various houses and establishments with a gun to her head.  Her time as an unwilling moll came to an end when Alfred Pennyworth, of all people, fought the Joker to a standstill in her defense, and to this day Josie has been a grateful friend to the man who saved her life and a great deal wiser for the wear.

Undine was a Scandinavian exchange student and the closest thing to a human sea nymph who found herself flourishing under the Jersey Shore sun and waves, becoming an expert surfer and high diver in less than a year and effortlessly charming every man and woman she said a word to.  Her natural charisma and daredevil streak made every rogue in need of fresh blood in their gangs sit up and take notice, but it was the Joker who showed up at the hot dog shack she worked at for the summer and offered her the chance to earn a little money under the table via extorting her customers for him and sabotaging contests.  She turned out to have a real aptitude for crime, adoring the thrill of danger and adventure, and although the Joker’s barbarism eventually turned her off of working for him, Undine remains a popular henchgirl for numerous criminals across Gotham.

Emerald was an enormous movie buff, having a particular love for sci-fi and the monster movies of old, and dreamed of one day making her own creepy special-effects extravaganza that would dazzle audiences the world over; she had also worked for the Joker for several years and had since retired from crime to legally pursue her passion.  But her old boss had not forgotten her—he remembered her loyal service, fascination with other worlds, and considerable amount of scientific skill and glibly offered her a place alongside him with the Injustice League to thumb their nose at Brainiac, knowing she would never be able to resist the opportunity to see what her film collection had only hinted at.  And at first it truly was exhilarating, but unlike the rest of the League, Emerald was nowhere near a match for the likes of Brainiac and tried to flee in terror of what the alien could do; the Joker nearly choked her to death and Lex Luthor threatened to have her thrown into the bottled city of Candor for bailing out so late in the game, but she was almost relieved to finally be apprehended by Batman and the rest of the Justice League.

#dc #batman 66 #queenie #susie #jill #cornelia #josie miller #venus #jane towser #undine #emerald #Female Rogues of Gotham City series #my aesthetics #character aesthetics

[newstfionline]

America’s Forgotten History of Illegal Deportations

By Alex Wagner, The Atlantic, March 6, 2017

It was a time of economic struggle, racial resentment and increasing xenophobia. Installed in the White House was a president who had never before held elected office. A moderately successful businessman, he promised American jobs for Americans--and made good on that promise by slashing immigration by nearly 90 percent.

He wore his hair parted down the middle, rather than elaborately piled on top, and his name was Herbert Hoover, not Donald Trump. But in the late 1920s and early 1930s, under the president’s watch, a wave of illegal and unconstitutional raids and deportations would alter the lives of as many as 1.8 million men, women and children--a threat that would seem to loom just as large in 2017 as it did back in 1929.

What became colloquially known as the “Mexican repatriation” efforts of 1929 to 1936 are a shameful and profoundly illustrative chapter in American history, yet they remain largely unknown--despite their broad and devastating impact.

Back in Hoover’s era, as America hung on the precipice of economic calamity--the Great Depression--the president was under enormous pressure to offer a solution for increasing unemployment, and to devise an emergency plan for the strained social safety net. Though he understood the pressing need to aid a crashing economy, Hoover resisted federal intervention, instead preferring a patchwork of piecemeal solutions, including the targeting of outsiders.

According to former California State Senator Joseph Dunn, who in 2004 began an investigation into the Hoover-era deportations, “the Republicans decided the way they were going to create jobs was by getting rid of anyone with a Mexican-sounding name.”

“Getting rid of” America’s Mexican population was a random, brutal effort. “For participating cities and counties, they would go through public employee rolls and look for Mexican-sounding names and then go and arrest and deport those people,” said Dunn. “And then there was a job opening!”

“We weren’t rounding up people who were Canadian,” he added. “It was an absolutely racially-motivated program to create jobs by getting rid of people.”

Why, specifically, men and women of Mexican heritage? Professor Francisco Balderrama, whose book, A Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s is the most definitive chronicle of the period (and, not coincidentally, one of the only ones), explained: “Mexican immigration was very recent. It goes back to that saying: Last hired, first fired. The attitude of many industrialists and agriculturalists was reflected in larger cities: A Mexican is a Mexican.” And that included even those citizens of Mexicans descent who were born in the U.S.

The so-called repatriation effort was, in large part, a misnomer, given the fact that as many as sixty percent of those sent to “home” Mexico were U.S. citizens: American-born children of Mexican-descent who had never before traveled south of the border. (Dunn noted, “I don’t know how you can repatriate someone to a country they’ve not been born or raised in.”)

“Individuals who left at 5, 6 and 7 years old found themselves in Mexico dealing with process of socialization, of learning the language, but they maintained an American identity,” said Balderrama. “And still had the dream to come back to ‘my country.’”

The raids, as detailed in Balderrama’s chronicle, were vicious. With national concerns over the supposed burden that outsiders were putting on social welfare agencies, authorities targeted those Mexicans utilizing public resources. “In Los Angeles,” explained Balderrama, “they had orderlies who gathered people [in the hospitals] and put them in stretchers on trucks and left them at the border.”

The efforts were equally chaotic. “The first raid in Los Angeles was in 1931--they surrounded La Placita Park near downtown L.A.,” Dunn recalled. “It was a heavily Latino area. They, literally, on a Sunday afternoon, rounded everyone up in park that day, took them to train station and put them on a train that they had leased. These people were taken to Central Mexico to minimize their chances of crossing the border and coming back to the U.S.”

Dunn continued, “It was not like there was a master committee mapping out blocks. It was more fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants. As in, Here’s a park where Mexicans go, okay let’s go there.”

Mexicans in the United States--and Americans of Mexican descent--had little understanding of what was happening, and what their rights were. Elena Herrada, one of the founders of the oral history project, “Los Repatriados: Exiles from the Promised Land,” is the grandchild of Mexican-Americans who were targeted in the raids. Her grandparents, she recalled, lived in a “mostly Mexican neighborhood” in Detroit, known as Court Town.

“It was the welfare officials who were doing it. A worker came to the door,” Herrada said. “My father remembered his father being asked by the worker, Where are you from?”

The family, Herrada recounted, was “de-patriated” to Mexico.

“My grandfather didn’t have work at the time, and they were forcing them to leave. There was no gun put to his to head, but [they said he] wouldn’t be eligible to receive assistance--and he would starve.”

“Many people didn’t believe they had a choice,” Herrada explained, “so they didn’t resist. My family didn’t believe they had a choice.”

Herrada’s father and uncle would spend two years in Mexico before his parents were able to bring him back to the United States--after her grandfather, a veteran of the U.S. Army, returned to the country and once again found work.

If American deportees made it back to America, according to Dunn, it was often because a friend or family member back in the States managed to obtain a copy of their birth certificate, proof of citizenship. And if they weren’t U.S. citizens, by the onset of World War II and the departure of much of the able-bodied workforce to the front, Mexican labor was back in demand: bodies were needed for low-paying agricultural work, and the xenophobia subsided under the auspices of the Bracero Program (a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, the program brought Mexican workers to the states for short-term labor).

But some never made it back to America. “We are who we are because of what people did in that moment,” said Herrada.

Each state handled the raids differently--sometimes federal agents were involved, sometimes it was social workers and local law enforcement who targeted people for removal. Hoover’s precise role in directing the deportation efforts is unclear, but, according to Professor Kevin Johnson, Dean of the UC Davis School of Law, and a specialist in public interest law and Chicano studies, “There was a lot of correspondence between the different levels of government, and there was logistical support.” This support included reimbursing states for the chartering of busses and trains to transport people to Mexico.

Deportations took place across the country: Los Angeles had the largest concentration of Mexicans and Mexican-born Americans, but communities in Detroit were also targeted in large number. “America’s most industrial city was in many ways the promise of the age in terms of economic prosperity,” according to Balderrama, and because of this, its Mexicans and citizens of Mexicans-descent were not exempt from deportation. “The archival evidence points to a full map, across the nation,” said Balderrama. There were deportations in states as far flung as Alaska, Alabama and Mississippi.

And yet, confirming the precise number of people who were deported during this era is difficult, said Balderrama. “Both governments”--Mexico and the United States--”weren’t very interested in keeping records about what happened. It was a problem and they wanted to get rid of it. That’s why the numbers are very difficult.”

Dunn, however, spent nearly three years doing archival research, enlisting his state senate staff to comb through federal, state and local records in a bid to reconcile California’s tortured legacy. He feels confident in his citation of 1.8 million people deported. “That number came out of several documents we got from the federal government,” he told me.

Beyond the travesty inflicted upon hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens, the Mexican deportations of the 1920s and 1930s are also shocking--and at this moment, particularly enlightening--for the illegalities visited upon non-citizens. Trump is unlikely to willfully deport American citizens, but he appears perilously close to replicating many of the mistakes Hoover did as it concerned the undocumented. And given the number of mixed-status families in the U.S.--as of 2015, 16.6 million Americans lived in residences with at least one undocumented immigrant--these deportations will affect citizens and non-citizens alike.

Given the burden mass deportations would have placed on the federal bureaucracy, Hoover’s administration outsourced the raids, targeting and deportation to local and state officials--persons not particularly well versed in constitutional law, nor the sensitivities surrounding deportation.

Trump appears ready to do the same: while the administration has directed the hiring of 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to oversee the dramatic increase in deportations, the administration has also revived the controversial 287(g) program, which recruits local law enforcement and sheriff’s deputies to assist in deportations.

Only a limited number of Americans seem to even be aware of the gross mistakes their country made in the name of security. While still a state senator, Dunn successfully sponsored the Apology Act, an official mea culpa from the state of California to its Mexican residents--it passed in 2006. He also led efforts to have a memorial erected in La Placita park, the site of the first raids on L.A.’s Mexican community, where it now stands in memoriam.

And yet, when Dunn took his apology proposal to members of the U.S. Congress, no one was interested. “They would say, ‘Immigration is really volatile right now. We’re gonna look like we’re only fighting for Latinos.’ We couldn’t convince anyone to pick it up.”

As for all the records and material unearthed during his research? Dunn said, “Those documents are still sitting in my garage. Nobody really wanted them.”

Those whose families were affected by the deportations--in some cases forever changed--appear no more eager to delve into the sins of the past. “They never talked about it,” said Herrada, “there was a lot of shame associated with it … They didn’t know why they got deported. They didn’t know what they did to bring that on. The only thing they knew was that they were Mexicans--and this only happened to Mexicans.”

#Herbert Hoover #Mexican deportations #Mexican repatriation #Hoover-era deportations

[hottytoddynews]

Photo by Steven Gagliano

Cinderella arrived wearing a red and blue uniform and cleats at the SEC Softball Tournament, a previously unknown junior college transfer by the name of Kaitlin Lee.

“She has won over the country,” said Ole Miss coach Mike Smith, who in his third season led the Rebels to their first-ever SEC Softball Tournament championship one year after taking the program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

“The energy Kaitlin brings on the field, it’s infectious,” Smith said, having seen the 5-foot-6, 130-pound prospect pitch four complete games in four days, allowing just 3 runs and 1 walk. “(USA Gold medalist) Jennie Finch tweeted in the middle of the game about her, so when you get arguably the best pitcher in the history of the game to tweet on Kaitlin Lee, you’ve pretty much arrived.”

Lee is indeed the sort of rags to riches story that’s hard to resist. Coming out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, she didn’t have any Power 5 conference offers.

Smith said all Lee wanted was a chance at Ole Miss, as hungry for opportunity as one might expect from someone who grew up with five sisters and three brothers on the Mississippi coast in Gulfport.

‘Who is this girl?’

Lee and the Rebels came a long way to get to the point of beating LSU 5-1 in the SEC Softball Tournament title game on Saturday night in Knoxville.

RELATED: Hotty Toddy, historic win for Ole Miss over LSU in title game

The fall softball season can be a grind for the players, as it’s filled with individual workouts and intrasquad scrimmages that can be chippy as players compete for positions.

Ole Miss senior Miranda Strother remembers her impression upon meeting the energetic Lee for the first time.

“When she first game in, I was like, ‘Wow, this girl is balls to the wall, who is this girl?” Strother said. “Now, we’re like. ‘Let’s go!’ She’s that person you don’t want on the other team, but you want her on your team.

“We really vibe off Kaitlin, her coming to the program has brought a high, intense energy.”

Lee said it’s all about her passion for the game.

“It’s 98 percent emotion,” Lee said. “They asked me what’s getting me through this, and it’s all my adrenaline and energy.”

Smith, a former minor league baseball pitcher who found his way to the Ole Miss coaching position three years ago after a successful NAIA run that included a 2009 national championship, knew the team would need to mesh.

“It was tough at first because she has a domineering personality, not in a bad way, but that dominant personality,” Smith said. “But the players knew.”

Just to be sure, Smith said he met with senior team leaders Strother and Courtney Syrett about how Lee could bring more leadership to the team.

Pivotal hire

Smith set the table for Lee to have ideal success before he had even recruited her when he hired former Arizona All-American and national championship pitcher Taryne Mowatt as his pitching coach in August 2015.

“Coach T makes these minor adjustments here and there and tell me tiny things I need to think about, because I’m a real thinking pitcher,” Lee said. “I look at her as a straight mentor, she leads me and calms me when I need to be calmed, and pushes me when I need to be pushed.”

It was Mowatt — like Lee a diminutive blonde — who turned in a legendary performance in winning 2007 Women’s College World Series MVP honors by throwing 8 complete games and 1,035 pitches in seven days.

“I think I’ve given short girls that want to pitch hope they can do it,” Mowatt told The Oklahoman in 2008. “You don’t have to be tall. You don’t have to throw 70 miles per hour.”

Mowatt outdueled NCAA all-time wins and strikeouts leader Monica Abbott in 2007, Arizona scoring 1-0 and 5-0 wins in shutting out Tennessee over 17 innings and stranding 26 runners in those two championship series games.

It led to Mowatt being named ESPN’s “Best Female Athlete” of 2007.

“I think it’s very similar between the two, small stature, both have good changeups, screwballs,” said Alabama coach Pat Murphy, who faced both, including a 4-1 loss to Lee and Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

“I think that’s a perfect combination. That kid is perfect with Taryne.”

Smith is hoping the story plays out the same in the postseason, as his No. 19-ranked Rebels (40-18) await the NCAA Softball Tournament seedings and brackets (Sunday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“Kaitlin is a lot like Taryne Mowatt — Taryne was exactly the same way,” Smith said. “People didn’t think that she was going to be the pitcher that she was. I think that you can put her as slowly starting to get to that Taryne Mowatt stage.

“If she can pitch us through a regional, a super and into the College World Series … I mean what she was able to do this week is beyond amazing.”

How does she do it?

Lee has nine different pitches in her arsenal, but what she throws varies by game, depending on what she’s throwing well and what the scouting report calls for.

In a 2-0 shutout over No. 1-ranked Florida, Lee said the only pitches she threw were a curve, screwball and changeup.

“She threw a changeup for a strike almost every time, threw pitches on the outside corner and most of the result pitches were out of the strike zone,” said Gators coach Tim Walton, whose 50-6 team was shut out for only the second time this season. “I thought we swung at a lot of bad pitches and took good pitches, or she made good pitches and then made better pitches.

“I thought she hit her spots and at the end and she got us to wave at the pitches she wanted to get us out with.”

Alabama’s Merris Schroder said Lee’s changeup creates doubt for hitters.

“She hits her locations when she needs to, and she has a very good changeup too,” Schroder said. “As a hitter, she keeps you on your heels, because of that changeup.”

Lee maintains an aggressive approach even if her pitches aren’t overpowering, as she surrendered just 1 walk in pitching 4 complete games over the 28 innings and four days she pitched at the SEC Softball Tournament.

“I don’t like to give up freebies, so if you’re going to be beat, you’ve got to beat me with my best stuff,” said Lee, who beat Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama and LSU, in order. “And that [one walk], the pitch was a strike … I’m sorry I’m still salty about it.”

Kaitlin Lee’s personality

Lee’s demonstrative nature in the pitching circle rubs some of the competition the wrong way, but LSU coach Beth Torina admitted that over time it’s more appreciated.

“I think she’s a competitor,” said Torina, whose team was 0-4 vs. Ole Miss this season, with Lee earning three wins and a save in those meetings. “I think she kind of grows on you a little bit.

“At first, the smile, you don’t know what to make of it but as she continues to compete she really grows on you and I have a lot of respect for her and what she did this week,” she said. “Obviously, we don’t have her figured out.”

Smith joked throughout the tournament that Lee was making all the coaching decisions, as far as telling him she was going to start the game.

Lee’s energy does have it bounds, though.

After dancing during pregame introductions and cheering when her teammates were batting the first four innings of the title game, Lee grew dizzy.

Smith said the Ole Miss trainer instructed her to sit down in the dugout to conserve energy.

Lee shrugged it off and said she could have pitched a third game on Saturday night had the situation called for it.

“If we played a game right now, I’d punch him [Coach Mike Smith] if he said I couldn’t pitch,” Lee said with a chuckle. “That first game [4-1 win over Alabama] I was tight and I was working myself out and didn’t have my best game.

“That second game I was warming up and I said ‘Coach T (Mowatt), I’m warmer than I’ve ever been.”

Lee, whose Twitter account encourages people to “be the person your dog thinks you are,” appears comfortable in her new role as a star pitcher.

Upon arriving for the championship press conference, she took off her shoes once entering the room, making herself comfortable at the front table.

“I was like, ’sit back, take a deep breath, it’s Jennie Finch,” Lee said of the tweet from the USA Olympian. “I try not to let it hit me because it’s overwhelming. I think I’m a great person for all the young’ins to look up to and I’m proud to be that for them.”

This story was originally written by SEC Country’s (Mike Griffith). It was republished on HottyToddy.com with permission from Cox Media Group. 

For questions or comments email us at [email protected]. 

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The post SEC Country: Ole Miss SEC Tourney MVP Kaitlin Lee Is Softball’s Latest Cinderella Story appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

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[headquartersforlievmuses]

��� Clint Barton

Clinton "Clint" Barton was born to Harold and Edith Barton. He grew up working in his father's Butchers shop in Waverly, Iowa with his older brother, Barney. Their father was abusive, especially when he drank and continually beat the young boys; Barney taught Clint how to fight and helped him to improve his aim. Harold's drinking eventually cost him his life along with his wife when both died in a car accident. Clint and Barney were sent to numerous foster homes; while running away from one of them, they encountered and joined a traveling circus where the pair worked as roustabouts. While a member of the circus, Clint was trained by the original Swordsman and by Trick Shot. Clint later found the Swordsman embezzling money from the carnival. Before he could turn his mentor over to the authorities, Clint was beaten and left for dead, allowing the Swordsman to escape town. Clint's relationship with his brother Barney and Trick Shot soon deteriorated as well.

Clint adapted his archery skills to become a star carnival attraction, a master archer called "Hawkeye", otherwise known as “The World’s Greatest Marksman”. He spent some time as a member of Tiboldt's Circus. Witnessing Iron Man in action, Barton attempted to emulate him by donning a colorful costume and employing his archery skills to fight crime. However, during his first public appearance, Hawkeye was mistaken for a thief by police. The Black Widow enlisted him as her partner and they clashed with Iron Man on several occasions.

Although Hawkeye became romantically involved with the Black Widow, he was unhappy being a criminal. When he approached the Avengers and told them of his desire to reform, Iron Man sponsored his membership on the team. Barton formed, along with Captain America, Scarlet Witch and her brother, Quicksilver, an incarnation of the Avengers known as "Cap's Kooky Quartet." This was the lineup that succeeded the original after the four remaining founders took indefinite leaves of absence. At first regarded as less formidable than the previous roster, the new team soon proved themselves against the likes of Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom.

Hawkeye remained an active member of the Avengers for years, his archery skills and inventive trick arrows augmenting the superhuman powers of his associates. His carefree and rebellious personality meant that he sometimes argued with Captain America, believing he could make a better leader. Eventually, however, Hawkeye came to respect Cap more than any other Avenger, and became one of his staunchest supporters.

For a short time, Barton abandoned his Hawkeye identity and while taking Hank Pym's growth serum, operated under the name Goliath. After resuming his Hawkeye role, he also briefly became the Golden Archer.

Around this time, Hawkeye began a series of extended leaves of absence from the Avengers, often trying to establish an independent identity outside of the group. The first instance actually saw Clint resign on the grounds of wanting to prove he did not need a team to be effective only to almost immediately join the Defenders for several adventures (including opposing the Avengers)! He also ended up in the 1870s where he befriended Western hero Two-Gun Kid and with the help of the Avengers, defeated Kang. He brought the Western Hero along to the present and left the Avengers to team up with him.

During the course of another leave, Barton became security chief for Cross Technological Enterprises. While at Cross, he met Jorge Latham, an engineer who would design the Sky-Cycle as Barton's personal conveyance when he was incapacitated with a broken leg. Shortly thereafter, Clint also met and eloped with Bobbi orse, a.k.a. fellow crime fighter Mockingbird, when the two were kidnapped by Crossfire, a villain who wanted to use hypnotic ultrasounds to force superheroes to kill each other. Hawkeye and Mockingbird defeated Crossfire, but Barton suffered permanent hearing damage due to the ultrasounds and for a long time was forced to wear a hearing aid. Eventually, Franklin Richards would cure him of this injury when Clint was among heroes restored from an alternate reality.

Upon his return to the Avengers with his new bride, Barton was appointed to chair a new second team of Avengers based on the West Coast by then-chairman, the Vision. The team Hawkeye chose consisted of Mockingbird, his original inspiration Iron Man, Wonder Man, and Tigra. Hawkeye and Mockingbird acted as the guiding force behind the team. Barton hired his old friend from Cross Technologies, Jorge Latham, to act as the on-staff mechanic and to build a new fleet of sky-cycles. Hank Pym helped the team in a civilian capacity as the resident scientist.

One of the western team's adventures scattered them across time. While Hawkeye and most of the others were stranded in ancient Egypt, Mockingbird was in the Old West, held captive and rendered amnesiac by Phantom Rider (Lincoln Slade), posing as her lover. In a mountaintop battle between the two after her escape, Barbara allowed Slade to fall to his death. The couple separated after Clint learned of all this through the vengeful Rider's spirit.

Hawkeye later returned to the West Coast branch after they reorganized under United Nations jurisdiction, although Bobbi remained with the Great Lakes team. The West Coast team operated both independently and in conjunction with the senior East Coast team. One mission they were involved on was Operation Galactic Storm. Barton was initially relegated to remain on Earth as part of the "rear guard" team due to a "lack of raw power." With some timely aid from Hank Pym, he re-assumed his old Goliath identity, and took USAgent's place on Captain America's team bound for the Kree Empire. After Iron Man, against orders, led a group of Avengers to execute the Kree Supreme Intelligence, Barton was important in helping Captain America regain confidence in his leadership. Briefly maintaining the Goliath identity, Clint and Bobbi seemingly managed to reconcile.

After Mockingbird's apparent death, Hawkeye became a solo agent for a period of time. During which, Barton was commissioned to train a group of rebels known as the Shadows along with Sundance and Striker. He attempted to keep them from killing, but on one raid Striker killed a woman and injured her fiancee, a friend of James Rhodes. As War Machine, Rhodes investigated and was surprised to see Hawkeye among the rebels. A government-backed group led by USAgent also arrived adding further confusion between the "Brothers in Arms". The three were able to stop the conflict and were confronted by the mysterious Advisor.

After years of fighting alongside the Avengers, Hawkeye offered to lead the Thunderbolts. Sympathetic to their plight as criminals trying to redeem themselves for their past actions, he decided to help them become a legitimate superhero team. Hawkeye initially posed as the criminal Dreadknight to meet the team before formally introducing himself and his intentions. He also became romantically involved with Moonstone. As leader, Hawkeye led the Thunderbolts both alongside and sometimes against his former teammates in the Avengers.

Eventually rejoining the Avengers, Clint began a dallying affair with the Wasp, causing tension with her sometime lover, Hank Pym. When the Scarlet Witch had her breakdown that resulted in the breakup of the Avengers, Barton perished on an exploding Kree ship created by her crazed state.

The Scarlet Witch did not act again until sometime later when she altered time and space on a universal level: changing Earth's history to where mutants were the rulers while human beings were a minority. Barton was very much alive in this remade world and affiliated with an underground human resistance opposing the general mutant supremacy. Like all of the other inhabitants on the planet, though, Clint retained no memory of his previous life.

This changed, however, after X-Man Emma Frost restored his memories, hoping to recruit him to a direct opposition of reawakened heroes against Magneto and the Scarlet Witch. While this rebellious network incorporated more of his original Avenger teammates, Barton was at the time reluctant, preoccupied with the disquieting notion of his recent demise among his returned memories.

Eventually confronting and failing to kill Wanda Maximoff with one of his arrows, he brought up their shared history as teammates as well as his former romantic feelings for her, angrily demanding to know why she ended his life. This encounter did not last long as Clint's heightened emotional state renewed Wanda's own mental instability, causing her to once again erase him from existence.

Wanda then restored reality to its original state, only to remove the mutant genome from millions on Earth, remaking them as powerless mainline humans. Clint awoke inside the ruins of Avengers Mansion confused by the events. Leaving his "Hawkeye" wardrobe and equipment there, he set out to locate the Scarlet Witch, seeking Doctor Strange for assistance. Strange was the only person in the world to know of his revival at this time. Clint found her living as a gypsy in a small European mountain village. Spending the night with her, Barton learned she had no memory of her previous life and was evidently depowered. He left at dawn the next morning, heeding the warning of Doctor Strange not to attempt to revive her memories and possibly worsen her mental condition.

After the apparent assassination of Captain America, Iron Man approached Clint about taking up the shield. Barton proved himself to be one of the few who could wield it effectively, and considered taking up the mantle. He and Iron Man encountered the Young Avengers called Patriot and Hawkeye. They convinced him that wearing Steve Rogers' costume and wielding his shield would be wrong, and he allowed the unregistered young heroes to go free. Later, when Clint learned that Stark had given the shield to "Bucky" Barnes (Cap's WWII sidekick and the reformed Winter Soldier), he payed this new Captain America a visit to express his disapproval.

Barton revealed himself as the current user of the Ronin guise, joining the New Avengers. During World War Hulk, he was defeated by two of the Hulk's Warbound while trying to defend Rick Jones.

During the Skrull Invasion, Barton headed to the Savage Land with the New Avengers to investigate a crashed Skrull ship. There, both they and the Mighty Avengers came across many heroes from years past including a "Hawkeye" and a "Mockingbird". This "Hawkeye" was discovered to be a Skrull, but after Clint questioned "Mockingbird" of her miscarriage, he truly believed her to be his late wife. Teammates Luke Cage and Wolverine were more suspicious. This was justified later, when Clint was proven wrong by Mr. Fantastic, whose technology forced the Skrulls to revert to their true forms. Clint did not hesitate in shooting the Skrull Mockingbird impostor dead with one of Black Widow's firearms. Enraged by such deception, Barton became more dedicated to opposing the invading Skrulls without any second thoughts about killing them. During the final battle with the Skrulls alongside dozens of superheroes, he used his old bow and quiver of trick arrows (dropped by the wounded Kate Bishop) to kill several Super-Skrulls and to severely wound Queen Veranke, who orchestrated the entire invasion while posing as Spider-Woman. After the fighting, it was discovered that the people replaced by the Skrulls were alive and well, including Bobbi.

Reuniting with his wife, they were the first to be invited by Barnes to his Brooklyn safe house, offering it as a new base of operations for the fugitive New Avengers. The team’s first order of business became a search and rescue mission for the infant daughter of fellow teammate Luke Cage, abducted during the final Skrull conflict.

Clint was infuriated at Norman Osborn’s rise to power- especially at the allegedly "former" villain’s own Avengers group, secretly composed of super villains publicly masquerading in familiar heroic identities. Wanting to dissuade Osborn and his group from further sullying the Avengers' name and legacy, Clint and his New Avengers attempted to lure them into battle at the Hellfire Club's former headquarters. Instead, they were opposed by the Hood's crime syndicate, sent in place of the new "Dark Avengers."

Deducing Osborn’s corrupt politics, Clint went to the media exposing his identity, denouncing the Dark Avengers and revealing Osborn’s ties to the Hood. His final words were a message encouraging the American public to resist Osborn’s regime. This did not rest well with Clint’s teammates as none of them were comfortable with him starting a public flame war without their consent, growing concerned for their general safety. Despite this negative feedback, Clint remained on good terms with his friends.

Clint also learned that Bobbi did not consider him her husband any longer, having had intentions to divorce him just prior to her abduction years before, although they somewhat successfully revived their relationship. It is also noteworthy, however, that he remained distrustful and cautious of Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) during this time due to Skrull Queen Veranke’s portrayal of her, reservations he apparently shared with teammate Luke Cage.

He was later unanimously voted as leader of the New Avengers, appointing Ms. Marvel as his deputy leader. He coordinated the team in aiding Doctor Strange in locating the next Sorcerer Supreme in New Orleans, opposing Dormammu, the Hood and Madame Masque in the process. Other adventures saw the New Avengers battle a rampaging Ymir alongside the Osborn’s Avengers , aiding the Hank Pym-led Mighty Avengers and Chinese nationalist heroes, People's Defense Force, against the powerful deposed Inhuman monarch, the Unspoken and escaping capture from the combined efforts of the Dark Avengers and the Hood’s Crime Syndicate, then commandeered by Doctor Jonas Harrow.

Steve Rogers put together a new team of Avengers. Clint joined the team and returned to his Hawkeye identity (although he encouraged Kate Bishop to keep the Hawkeye identity as well). He and Mockingbird were also members of the New Avengers, although Hawkeye later left the New Avengers when he received an Avengers priority call from the main team, claiming that he was only there to spend time with his wife.

Hawkeye aided Mockingbird and her anti-terrorist organization, the World Counter-terrorism Agency. Together, they thwarted Crossfire's illegal arms operation, and encountered Lincoln Slade's descendant, Jaime Slade, who later went on to become the new Phantom Rider. Crossfire and the new Phantom Rider teamed up to battle the heroes. This feud had its casualties with Mockingbird's mother being severely wounded and the death of Hamilton Slade, both at the hands of Crossfire. Hawkeye left the W.C.A. after it became clear that his relationship with Mockingbird had become too strained. However, he quickly rejoined after being informed by Steve Rogers that a kill list of international spies included Mockingbird.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird teamed up with the Black Widow to take on the mysterious new Ronin and the Dark Ocean Society. The new Ronin was later revealed to be Alexi Shostakov, the former Red Guardian and ex-husband of the Black Widow. During the final battle with the new Ronin, Hawkeye received a strong blow to the head, which proved to be more serious than first thought.

During the Asgardian Serpent and his Worthy's attack on Earth , Hawkeye developed feelings for fellow Avenger, Spider-Woman, after they battled Nul in Brazil. Since that time, they have displayed a very curious chemistry, much to the consternation of Mockingbird. Some of their "date/missions" have seen the couple in the midst of Spider-Island and a renewed campaign of Norman Osborn rallying the combined forces of H.A.M.M.E.R., Hydra, the Hand and A.I.M. against the heroes.

Captain America left the leadership of the Secret Avengers in the hands of Clint. He, in turn, recruited Giant-Man, Captain Britain, a new heroic Venom, and the original Human Torch to supplement the team's roster. He then led the Secret Avengers against the Father, a mad scientist seeking an android takeover of Earth.

During the controversial struggle against the X-Men over the impending Earthbound arrival of the cataclysmic Phoenix Force, Hawkeye was active in the Avengers' efforts of retrieving Hope Summers, whom they believed was the key to averting the crisis.

Some time following his adventures with Kate, Clint was approached by Bruce Banner, the hero also known as the Hulk. While he had been cured of his condition and hadn't turned into the Hulk in almost a year, he gave Clint a specialized arrow tip for him to use to kill Banner if he gave any indication that he was transforming into the Hulk again.

Months later, when the Inhuman precog Ulysses Cain had a vision that Banner was going to transform into the Hulk and kill everyone, a team of heroes went to Banner's secret lab and tried to calm him down. Beast revealed that Banner had been secretly experimenting on himself with dead gamma cells, but Banner protested the accusation. Seeing his rising level of anger and frustration, Clint, hidden in the bushes nearby loosed the arrow and killed Banner.

For killing Banner, Clint was put on trial for murder and was eventually acquitted. Plagued by guilt, Clint decided to leave the city behind and drive across the country on a journey of redemption, looking out to right the type of wrongs superheroes don't usually get involved in. During an adventure investigating the polluted water of an Indian reservation, Hawkeye encountered Red Wolf who became his partner.

Powers

As Hawkeye or Ronin, Clint possesses no superhuman abilities. Although, because of his abilities, Nick Fury's intel classified him as power level 4.

For some reason, he was affected by the Power Drainer. H.A.M.M.E.R. Agent Harrold recommended that Barton's DNA would be analyzed to explain it.

Master Archer: Barton has trained himself to become a master archer specializing in the use of regular bows, longbows, compound bows, and crossbows with near-perfect accuracy. He is capable of firing multiple arrows at a single target in a few seconds, hitting multiple targets in a few quick strokes, and directly hit small targets in the greatest of distances. Barton has even been known to hit an apple in the center of it. He practices a minimum of two hours per day to keep his skills honed.

Peak Human Condition: Clint's bodily functions at the Olympic-level athlete of a man his height, age, weight and build up exercise.

Master Marksman: He possesses very keen eyesight, and his accuracy is virtually unerring; he was trained in his youth by Trick Shot with throwing blades, balls, bolas, and boomerangs. He now has near-perfect precision with any aimed or thrown weapon. He can hurl objects with extreme speed and accuracy, both in direct aim and complicated rebounds/interactions.

Expert Acrobat: Barton possesses exceptional human strength, endurance, and stamina. He is an athletic person with very good reflexes and agility. For this combined with training as an aerialist and acrobat, it makes him capable of doing numerous complex acrobatic maneuvers.

Master Martial Artist: Barton is an excellent martial artist, having been trained in various forms by Captain America, who was arguably the world's greatest hand-to-hand combatant. On his first mission with Luke Cage's band of renegade New Avengers, Ronin proved to have come a long way from his old days of rarely ever using his martial arts skills. Throughout the battle against Elektra and The Hand, he demonstrated great skill in his overall martial ability, holding his own against nearly endless hordes of ninjas. This earned him a very respecting compliment from his teammate Iron Fist, one of the world's most top martial artists. It was revealed by Cap that Hawkeye has once defeated an elder of the universe with his luck and his wit.

Expert Tactician: As shown in his leadership of the West Coast Avengers and the Thunderbolts, Barton is a highly competent strategist, tactician, and field commander.

Cunning Fighter: Hawkeye is shown many of times as a smart and clever fighter. Cap said Hawkeye had once defeated an elder of the universe with luck and quick thinking. He was even able to outwit Bucky Barnes in training by using a joy buzzer on Bucky's cybernetic arm, though not able to defeat him.

Weapons Proficiency: Although he is not known to use melee weapons, Barton's incredible reflexes and hand-eye coordination allow him to easily master most weapons. He also received training in swordsmanship during his youth from the original Swordsman, who was considered one of the greatest experts in sword-fighting the world has ever known. Barton is skilled with swords, knives, nunchukus, staffs and is one of the few people to be able to properly handle Captain America's shield.

Trilingual: Not only is Hawkeye fluent in English, his mother tongue, but also in Italian and in American sign language.

As Hawkeye or Ronin, Barton possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in intense regular exercise and is officially an athletic. However, for some reason to his strength which came from the Pym Particles that he uses, it gives him the ability to likely gain some level of peak human strength. The determination of his strength is when he was able to push a car off him with one hand, though it take several effort. As Goliath, his strength was varied according to the height he achieved: at 10 feet tall, Barton could lift (press) 1000 pounds, at 25 feet tall he could lift (press) 10 tons, and at 100 feet tall, Barton could lift (press) 50 tons. The higher Barton grew past 25 feet, the more of his strength he had to use simply to support his own enormous mass. While shrinking as Goliath, Barton retained his normal strength.

For a time, he was 80% deaf due to an injury sustained while in Crossfire's captivity, but his hearing was restored during his rebirth on Franklin Richards' Counter-Earth. He was again deafened by the Clown, who jammed Hawkeye's own arrows into both of Hawkeye's ears, causing damage to the middle and inner ears. He remained largely deaf, and used sign language, and lip reading to understand those around him, while using normal speech to communicate to them. He later started using hearing aids created by Tony Stark.

It was also revealed that as a child, abuse from his father left him partially deaf, but it's unknown if it was temporary or if it lasted until adulthood, with him successfully hiding it.

Verses

tba

#Avengers #Avengers [Clint Barton] #Male Character #non mutuals #face claim: Jeremy Renner

[hottytoddynews]

Photo by Steven Gagliano

Cinderella arrived wearing a red and blue uniform and cleats at the SEC Softball Tournament, a previously unknown junior college transfer by the name of Kaitlin Lee.

“She has won over the country,” said Ole Miss coach Mike Smith, who in his third season led the Rebels to their first-ever SEC Softball Tournament championship one year after taking the program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

“The energy Kaitlin brings on the field, it’s infectious,” Smith said, having seen the 5-foot-6, 130-pound prospect pitch four complete games in four days, allowing just 3 runs and 1 walk. “(USA Gold medalist) Jennie Finch tweeted in the middle of the game about her, so when you get arguably the best pitcher in the history of the game to tweet on Kaitlin Lee, you’ve pretty much arrived.”

Lee is indeed the sort of rags to riches story that’s hard to resist. Coming out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, she didn’t have any Power 5 conference offers.

Smith said all Lee wanted was a chance at Ole Miss, as hungry for opportunity as one might expect from someone who grew up with five sisters and three brothers on the Mississippi coast in Gulfport.

‘Who is this girl?’

Lee and the Rebels came a long way to get to the point of beating LSU 5-1 in the SEC Softball Tournament title game on Saturday night in Knoxville.

RELATED: Hotty Toddy, historic win for Ole Miss over LSU in title game

The fall softball season can be a grind for the players, as it’s filled with individual workouts and intrasquad scrimmages that can be chippy as players compete for positions.

Ole Miss senior Miranda Strother remembers her impression upon meeting the energetic Lee for the first time.

“When she first game in, I was like, ‘Wow, this girl is balls to the wall, who is this girl?” Strother said. “Now, we’re like. ‘Let’s go!’ She’s that person you don’t want on the other team, but you want her on your team.

“We really vibe off Kaitlin, her coming to the program has brought a high, intense energy.”

Lee said it’s all about her passion for the game.

“It’s 98 percent emotion,” Lee said. “They asked me what’s getting me through this, and it’s all my adrenaline and energy.”

Smith, a former minor league baseball pitcher who found his way to the Ole Miss coaching position three years ago after a successful NAIA run that included a 2009 national championship, knew the team would need to mesh.

“It was tough at first because she has a domineering personality, not in a bad way, but that dominant personality,” Smith said. “But the players knew.”

Just to be sure, Smith said he met with senior team leaders Strother and Courtney Syrett about how Lee could bring more leadership to the team.

Pivotal hire

Smith set the table for Lee to have ideal success before he had even recruited her when he hired former Arizona All-American and national championship pitcher Taryne Mowatt as his pitching coach in August 2015.

“Coach T makes these minor adjustments here and there and tell me tiny things I need to think about, because I’m a real thinking pitcher,” Lee said. “I look at her as a straight mentor, she leads me and calms me when I need to be calmed, and pushes me when I need to be pushed.”

It was Mowatt — like Lee a diminutive blonde — who turned in a legendary performance in winning 2007 Women’s College World Series MVP honors by throwing 8 complete games and 1,035 pitches in seven days.

“I think I’ve given short girls that want to pitch hope they can do it,” Mowatt told The Oklahoman in 2008. “You don’t have to be tall. You don’t have to throw 70 miles per hour.”

Mowatt outdueled NCAA all-time wins and strikeouts leader Monica Abbott in 2007, Arizona scoring 1-0 and 5-0 wins in shutting out Tennessee over 17 innings and stranding 26 runners in those two championship series games.

It led to Mowatt being named ESPN’s “Best Female Athlete” of 2007.

“I think it’s very similar between the two, small stature, both have good changeups, screwballs,” said Alabama coach Pat Murphy, who faced both, including a 4-1 loss to Lee and Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

“I think that’s a perfect combination. That kid is perfect with Taryne.”

Smith is hoping the story plays out the same in the postseason, as his No. 19-ranked Rebels (40-18) await the NCAA Softball Tournament seedings and brackets (Sunday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“Kaitlin is a lot like Taryne Mowatt — Taryne was exactly the same way,” Smith said. “People didn’t think that she was going to be the pitcher that she was. I think that you can put her as slowly starting to get to that Taryne Mowatt stage.

“If she can pitch us through a regional, a super and into the College World Series … I mean what she was able to do this week is beyond amazing.”

How does she do it?

Lee has nine different pitches in her arsenal, but what she throws varies by game, depending on what she’s throwing well and what the scouting report calls for.

In a 2-0 shutout over No. 1-ranked Florida, Lee said the only pitches she threw were a curve, screwball and changeup.

“She threw a changeup for a strike almost every time, threw pitches on the outside corner and most of the result pitches were out of the strike zone,” said Gators coach Tim Walton, whose 50-6 team was shut out for only the second time this season. “I thought we swung at a lot of bad pitches and took good pitches, or she made good pitches and then made better pitches.

“I thought she hit her spots and at the end and she got us to wave at the pitches she wanted to get us out with.”

Alabama’s Merris Schroder said Lee’s changeup creates doubt for hitters.

“She hits her locations when she needs to, and she has a very good changeup too,” Schroder said. “As a hitter, she keeps you on your heels, because of that changeup.”

Lee maintains an aggressive approach even if her pitches aren’t overpowering, as she surrendered just 1 walk in pitching 4 complete games over the 28 innings and four days she pitched at the SEC Softball Tournament.

“I don’t like to give up freebies, so if you’re going to be beat, you’ve got to beat me with my best stuff,” said Lee, who beat Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama and LSU, in order. “And that [one walk], the pitch was a strike … I’m sorry I’m still salty about it.”

Kaitlin Lee’s personality

Lee’s demonstrative nature in the pitching circle rubs some of the competition the wrong way, but LSU coach Beth Torina admitted that over time it’s more appreciated.

“I think she’s a competitor,” said Torina, whose team was 0-4 vs. Ole Miss this season, with Lee earning three wins and a save in those meetings. “I think she kind of grows on you a little bit.

“At first, the smile, you don’t know what to make of it but as she continues to compete she really grows on you and I have a lot of respect for her and what she did this week,” she said. “Obviously, we don’t have her figured out.”

Smith joked throughout the tournament that Lee was making all the coaching decisions, as far as telling him she was going to start the game.

Lee’s energy does have it bounds, though.

After dancing during pregame introductions and cheering when her teammates were batting the first four innings of the title game, Lee grew dizzy.

Smith said the Ole Miss trainer instructed her to sit down in the dugout to conserve energy.

Lee shrugged it off and said she could have pitched a third game on Saturday night had the situation called for it.

“If we played a game right now, I’d punch him [Coach Mike Smith] if he said I couldn’t pitch,” Lee said with a chuckle. “That first game [4-1 win over Alabama] I was tight and I was working myself out and didn’t have my best game.

“That second game I was warming up and I said ‘Coach T (Mowatt), I’m warmer than I’ve ever been.”

Lee, whose Twitter account encourages people to “be the person your dog thinks you are,” appears comfortable in her new role as a star pitcher.

Upon arriving for the championship press conference, she took off her shoes once entering the room, making herself comfortable at the front table.

“I was like, ’sit back, take a deep breath, it’s Jennie Finch,” Lee said of the tweet from the USA Olympian. “I try not to let it hit me because it’s overwhelming. I think I’m a great person for all the young’ins to look up to and I’m proud to be that for them.”

This story was originally written by SEC Country’s (Mike Griffith). It was republished on HottyToddy.com with permission from Cox Media Group. 

For questions or comments email us at [email protected]. 

Follow HottyToddy.com on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @hottytoddynews. Like its Facebook page: If You Love Oxford and Ole Miss…

The post SEC Country: Ole Miss SEC Tourney MVP Kaitlin Lee Is Softball’s Latest Cinderella Story appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

#hottytoddy #olemiss #oxfordms #oxford ms #mississippi #university of mississippi #the grove

[hottytoddynews]

Photo by Steven Gagliano

Cinderella arrived wearing a red and blue uniform and cleats at the SEC Softball Tournament, a previously unknown junior college transfer by the name of Kaitlin Lee.

“She has won over the country,” said Ole Miss coach Mike Smith, who in his third season led the Rebels to their first-ever SEC Softball Tournament championship one year after taking the program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

“The energy Kaitlin brings on the field, it’s infectious,” Smith said, having seen the 5-foot-6, 130-pound prospect pitch four complete games in four days, allowing just 3 runs and 1 walk. “(USA Gold medalist) Jennie Finch tweeted in the middle of the game about her, so when you get arguably the best pitcher in the history of the game to tweet on Kaitlin Lee, you’ve pretty much arrived.”

Lee is indeed the sort of rags to riches story that’s hard to resist. Coming out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, she didn’t have any Power 5 conference offers.

Smith said all Lee wanted was a chance at Ole Miss, as hungry for opportunity as one might expect from someone who grew up with five sisters and three brothers on the Mississippi coast in Gulfport.

‘Who is this girl?’

Lee and the Rebels came a long way to get to the point of beating LSU 5-1 in the SEC Softball Tournament title game on Saturday night in Knoxville.

RELATED: Hotty Toddy, historic win for Ole Miss over LSU in title game

The fall softball season can be a grind for the players, as it’s filled with individual workouts and intrasquad scrimmages that can be chippy as players compete for positions.

Ole Miss senior Miranda Strother remembers her impression upon meeting the energetic Lee for the first time.

“When she first game in, I was like, ‘Wow, this girl is balls to the wall, who is this girl?” Strother said. “Now, we’re like. ‘Let’s go!’ She’s that person you don’t want on the other team, but you want her on your team.

“We really vibe off Kaitlin, her coming to the program has brought a high, intense energy.”

Lee said it’s all about her passion for the game.

“It’s 98 percent emotion,” Lee said. “They asked me what’s getting me through this, and it’s all my adrenaline and energy.”

Smith, a former minor league baseball pitcher who found his way to the Ole Miss coaching position three years ago after a successful NAIA run that included a 2009 national championship, knew the team would need to mesh.

“It was tough at first because she has a domineering personality, not in a bad way, but that dominant personality,” Smith said. “But the players knew.”

Just to be sure, Smith said he met with senior team leaders Strother and Courtney Syrett about how Lee could bring more leadership to the team.

Pivotal hire

Smith set the table for Lee to have ideal success before he had even recruited her when he hired former Arizona All-American and national championship pitcher Taryne Mowatt as his pitching coach in August 2015.

“Coach T makes these minor adjustments here and there and tell me tiny things I need to think about, because I’m a real thinking pitcher,” Lee said. “I look at her as a straight mentor, she leads me and calms me when I need to be calmed, and pushes me when I need to be pushed.”

It was Mowatt — like Lee a diminutive blonde — who turned in a legendary performance in winning 2007 Women’s College World Series MVP honors by throwing 8 complete games and 1,035 pitches in seven days.

“I think I’ve given short girls that want to pitch hope they can do it,” Mowatt told The Oklahoman in 2008. “You don’t have to be tall. You don’t have to throw 70 miles per hour.”

Mowatt outdueled NCAA all-time wins and strikeouts leader Monica Abbott in 2007, Arizona scoring 1-0 and 5-0 wins in shutting out Tennessee over 17 innings and stranding 26 runners in those two championship series games.

It led to Mowatt being named ESPN’s “Best Female Athlete” of 2007.

“I think it’s very similar between the two, small stature, both have good changeups, screwballs,” said Alabama coach Pat Murphy, who faced both, including a 4-1 loss to Lee and Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

“I think that’s a perfect combination. That kid is perfect with Taryne.”

Smith is hoping the story plays out the same in the postseason, as his No. 19-ranked Rebels (40-18) await the NCAA Softball Tournament seedings and brackets (Sunday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“Kaitlin is a lot like Taryne Mowatt — Taryne was exactly the same way,” Smith said. “People didn’t think that she was going to be the pitcher that she was. I think that you can put her as slowly starting to get to that Taryne Mowatt stage.

“If she can pitch us through a regional, a super and into the College World Series … I mean what she was able to do this week is beyond amazing.”

How does she do it?

Lee has nine different pitches in her arsenal, but what she throws varies by game, depending on what she’s throwing well and what the scouting report calls for.

In a 2-0 shutout over No. 1-ranked Florida, Lee said the only pitches she threw were a curve, screwball and changeup.

“She threw a changeup for a strike almost every time, threw pitches on the outside corner and most of the result pitches were out of the strike zone,” said Gators coach Tim Walton, whose 50-6 team was shut out for only the second time this season. “I thought we swung at a lot of bad pitches and took good pitches, or she made good pitches and then made better pitches.

“I thought she hit her spots and at the end and she got us to wave at the pitches she wanted to get us out with.”

Alabama’s Merris Schroder said Lee’s changeup creates doubt for hitters.

“She hits her locations when she needs to, and she has a very good changeup too,” Schroder said. “As a hitter, she keeps you on your heels, because of that changeup.”

Lee maintains an aggressive approach even if her pitches aren’t overpowering, as she surrendered just 1 walk in pitching 4 complete games over the 28 innings and four days she pitched at the SEC Softball Tournament.

“I don’t like to give up freebies, so if you’re going to be beat, you’ve got to beat me with my best stuff,” said Lee, who beat Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama and LSU, in order. “And that [one walk], the pitch was a strike … I’m sorry I’m still salty about it.”

Kaitlin Lee’s personality

Lee’s demonstrative nature in the pitching circle rubs some of the competition the wrong way, but LSU coach Beth Torina admitted that over time it’s more appreciated.

“I think she’s a competitor,” said Torina, whose team was 0-4 vs. Ole Miss this season, with Lee earning three wins and a save in those meetings. “I think she kind of grows on you a little bit.

“At first, the smile, you don’t know what to make of it but as she continues to compete she really grows on you and I have a lot of respect for her and what she did this week,” she said. “Obviously, we don’t have her figured out.”

Smith joked throughout the tournament that Lee was making all the coaching decisions, as far as telling him she was going to start the game.

Lee’s energy does have it bounds, though.

After dancing during pregame introductions and cheering when her teammates were batting the first four innings of the title game, Lee grew dizzy.

Smith said the Ole Miss trainer instructed her to sit down in the dugout to conserve energy.

Lee shrugged it off and said she could have pitched a third game on Saturday night had the situation called for it.

“If we played a game right now, I’d punch him [Coach Mike Smith] if he said I couldn’t pitch,” Lee said with a chuckle. “That first game [4-1 win over Alabama] I was tight and I was working myself out and didn’t have my best game.

“That second game I was warming up and I said ‘Coach T (Mowatt), I’m warmer than I’ve ever been.”

Lee, whose Twitter account encourages people to “be the person your dog thinks you are,” appears comfortable in her new role as a star pitcher.

Upon arriving for the championship press conference, she took off her shoes once entering the room, making herself comfortable at the front table.

“I was like, ’sit back, take a deep breath, it’s Jennie Finch,” Lee said of the tweet from the USA Olympian. “I try not to let it hit me because it’s overwhelming. I think I’m a great person for all the young’ins to look up to and I’m proud to be that for them.”

This story was originally written by SEC Country’s (Mike Griffith). It was republished on HottyToddy.com with permission from Cox Media Group. 

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