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Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land

Chapter 13: All Of My Past, I Tried To Erase It, But Now I See, Would I Even Change It? (Part 1)

Masterlist / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 (Part 1 / Here!) (Part 2) /

Trigger Warnings: Body Image Issues, Eating Issues.

The Kents' apartment smelled of ink and coffee beans.

Even after years of learning to control his strength, Clark still managed to crush pens with his bare hands if he got a bit too into his interview transcripts. Making a mess of ink over his papers and desk, groaning to himself for ruining another nice shirt, and gaining a belly laugh from his wife and the boys when he made his way to the kitchen sink to scrub off his now blue hands. 

And if the other three were laughing a bit too much for his liking, the whole apartment would become full of squeals, laughter, and loud stomping. Clark taking his sweet revenge by staining his family and the walls of their home with his handprints.

It usually ended with all of them sprawled on the floor, still giggling and laughing while covered in ink.

On the other hand, Lois was still only to be trusted with the coffee machine in the kitchen. Every morning without fail, the place would smell of her favorite coffee brand, almost serving as an alarm clock for the rest of the family, which was still snoring or slumbering in their rooms.

Lois had tried multiple times to get Conner to like her coffee, already giving up on Clark after so many years of trying and deeming Jon too young to give him a taste. But to her luck, Conner also seemed to inherit Clark’s sweet tooth and blatant dislike for the drink.

Still, he continued to please her by trying her morning coffee despite the nausea and Clark’s pointed stare.

And all of this was part of what Conner deemed as home.

For him, home was Clark’s ink-stained hands and Lois’s morning coffee.

Home was also Ma’s apple pie, the one that she still insists has a magical healing ingredient for when somebody is feeling down. Home is also Pa’s Coke float after a long, hot day of working on the farm. And Jon’s drawings, the ones made with those cheap fruit-scented markers that he keeps in both of his bedrooms on Metropolis and Smallville.

Home wasn’t a place for him. 

His family was his home, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

But right now? Conner would trade anything to avoid where this conversation was going.

“Are you sure he’s your only concern?” Lois squinted at him from behind her cup.

Clark gave her a pointed look, fingers coming to a stop from typing on his laptop. His glasses had slipped down his nose, making him look like an old man when he tried to look through the lenses by turning up his nose because he didn’t bother to fix them up.

He didn’t even need the glasses, not around them. But it seemed like he would just forget to drop his act even inside his home.

“I’m sure Tim is just going through a rough time.” The older man suggested, eyes drifting away from his wife and towards Conner, who sat right in front of him on the round dinner table. “If he’s anything like Bruce, I’m sure he’ll be back to normal once their current case is solved.”

“I don’t think it’s about the case, though,” Conner stated, hanging his arm on the back of his chair. His legs were spread out under the table, still wearing his pajama pants with a teddy bear print that Jon had proudly given him as a Christmas gift the previous year. 

They were the most comfortable pieces of clothing he had ever gotten, so nobody could judge him for wearing them around the apartment. If someone teased him, they would have to deal with a teary-eyed Jon and an annoyed Conner ready to get them to apologize.

“He’s been, I don’t know,” he sighed, eyebrows creasing. “He is just acting weird.”

Lois snorted, finally taking a seat beside Clark at the table. Her cup clunked against the table as she put it down. “Define weird. No one in that family has any type of normal behavior.”

“Lois.” Clark chided. “That’s not nice.”

She shrugged, crossing her arms and leaning back on the chair. “It’s a fact. I speak only with the facts.”

Conner stayed quiet for a while, looking at the two adults as they bantered. He was already used to this conversation between them when it came to the Wayne family.

It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. Clark had known Bruce and the boys for years, and he had developed a level of trust in them, despite their occasional clashing debates on certain opinions and themes. It was to be expected that he would come to Bruce’s defense when it came to some questionable decisions or actions made by the Dark Knight.  

Even if Clark has been having a harder time justifying his friend’s actions lately.

Lois, on the other hand, had a very different opinion of Bruce Wayne. And she wasn’t shy about letting it be known. Because, despite all the good things that man has done for his city, both inside and outside his suit, Lois Lane refuses to ignore Bruce’s actions and behavior toward his children.

More specifically, towards his daughter.

Conner didn’t know all the details about it, but from what he gathered from past comments and overheard conversations, Lois had been present at the Wayne girl’s first public appearance. 

And from what he had gathered, that event had been a disaster that continued to make Lois’ blood boil.

It was curious to him. It was curious how everything seemed to be circling back towards her. 

How in Tim’s mindless mutters, her name was the one to get his attention amongst the mess of words his friend spouted. How, despite listening to Barbara’s warnings, his mind could just picture her sharp grin and long curls that refused to stay still for a single moment. How her blunt words and quick glances made such a big impression on him, no matter how short and fast their first meeting had been.

He couldn’t even forget the sound-

“I recognize that look anywhere.” Lois's smug voice snapped him out of his thoughts, his head facing towards the two adults.

Clark looked at him with a raised eyebrow, the corner of his mouth rising very slowly, while Lois had a triumphant expression on her face and taking a sip from her coffee. Then, she leaned a bit forward, her index finger pointed right at Conner’s face.

It put him on the edge, feeling all his danger alarms blaring in the back of his head.

Because when Lois caught onto something, there was no way of escaping.

“Absent from conversations. Longing sighs. And most importantly, that dreamy, far-away look that can only belong to a Kent.” She mentioned, eyes sharpening while Clark coughed behind his fist. Conner could only sink deeper into his seat, feeling his face turn warm as Lois rose from her chair with a laugh.

“Can’t say I’m surprised! You’re a teenager, after all. It was bound to happen at some point.” She teased, going around the table to ruffle his hair as he groaned while covering his now bright red face. Which got a chuckle out of Clark and coos from Lois.

Conner tried to move her hands away, but she simply laughed and hugged him from behind while he pouted at Clark, offended that the man wasn’t doing anything to stop her. 

“Who are they? Are they a friend of yours? Maybe Tim’s?” Clark asked, closing his laptop and taking off his glasses.

“They’re obviously from Gotham, or Kon wouldn’t be so insistent on visiting so often,” Lois added. “Are they close to the Wayne family? Are they a boy or a girl? How long have you known each other?”

As Clark and Lois continued to ask more questions, Conner could only hope to pass away out of pure embarrassment and shame.

There goes his sense of privacy. It was nice while it lasted.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

“It stinks like ass in there.”

“If that was the ladies' bathroom,” Bobby sighed, shoving his uniform deep into his bag. “Imagine ours. It could count as a biohazard weapon.”

Maximoff grunted, closing the door of the truck after throwing her bag in the backseat, which hit a half-asleep Warren. He glared at her through the back window before slipping his eyes closed and grumbling to himself, crossing his arms and leaning his head back against the seat.

It had been easy sneaking out of the academy grounds. Their classes were cut short to finish up the preparations for the recital. It was apparently a big deal for the student body, and they took it very seriously. So seriously, that plenty of arguments and near fist fights over the order of turns had broken out when the list had been revealed earlier in the week. It was hard to understand why everyone was so stressed over it until Warren gave some insight.

The recital wasn’t exactly just some silly talent show for the school, but another way for college scouts to find candidates for their programs.

It worked similarly to college coaches recruiting athletes for their teams, but mostly focused on the arts. Gotham Academy had the resources and contacts to bring prestige Universities to this recital, like Juilliard, The Curtis Institute, Berklee, etc. 

And that was just the big price because the journey to get it was even more brutal.

To be part of the recital, you had to go through a series of auditions. You couldn’t just sign up and do your act; you had to fight for your spot against your classmates, and then hope for the best at the recital.

Warren wasn’t exactly passionate about music; all of his plans revolved around his father’s company and inheritance. He would go to Gotham University, study finances, marry whoever his father approved, and then grow bald while sitting on his ass for the rest of his life in his father’s fancy office.

…Well, that’s how Warren explained it.

But Wayne had other plans with him. She had seen Warren practice the violin by himself one day after school and dragged him to the auditions while claiming them to be a musical duo from that day on. He had refused at first, but then the famous deal was made, and he had no choice but to agree to it.

But all of those efforts had been thrown out the window by the very bizarre situation they had on their hands at the moment.

With the recital out of their plans, now exchanged with sneaking into probably the most dangerous place in the whole city, the teens had embraced their new target with plenty of questions about how the hell they were going to be able to pull it off.

The first stage was easy: sneaking out of the academy. 

Since there was pure chaos when the last bell rang, all three of them (plus an invisible ghost to the normal eye) had slipped away to the parking lot and took off in Bobby’s truck. The only obstacle they faced was avoiding Mr. Logan’s sharp eyes while going through the halls. It was almost as if he had known they were up to something. But they hid in the corners and walked with small crowds of students until they made it outside, successfully evading the teacher.

(Or so they thought.)

The second stage was where they were currently stuck: Changing their uniforms at the closest gas station to the Trigate Bridge and fueling up (Both the truck and their stomachs).

Finding out that the asylum was outside on a completely different island, on the city limits, had put their previous plan on shaky ground. If it were on the mainland, they could have just snuck into the building without getting noticed with Maximoff’s speed (which was a shitty plan because she has little to no control over her speed yet, the security cameras and the fact that none of them knew how to hack or some bullshit like that). 

But Arkham Asylum was located on Mercey Island, an island that was filled with security, and the only way of getting in was with an authorized visit permit. 

And, of course, since she was a minor, it had to be signed by an adult and accompanied by them.

Asking Bruce for the permit was clearly out of the question, or anyone in the family. Maximoff already didn’t trust them, and the whole letter fiasco left it pretty clear that the man would go to far-off lengths to keep her away from Harvey Dent. 

(It also chilled her to the bone being around him lately. She didn’t like how his stare lingered on her the whole time she wandered into a room or hall.)

Alfred was also out; she didn’t want to get the poor man in trouble. He had done plenty for her by bringing her meals to her room, so she didn’t have to talk to anyone else, and also letting her know when everyone was out of the manor. Asking him for help in this was a bit too much to ask of him.

There was the option of asking Barbara, whom she had been texting in the past week, but she didn’t know her well enough to ask her something like that. Plus, the fact that Richard was her boyfriend didn’t exactly help out in thrusting her right out of the gate.

And just like that, they were stumped with their choices.

No permit. No supervising adult. And no way to get into Arkham.

The door of the gas station buzzed as Bobby and Maximoff made their way inside. There were only two employees, one at the cashier and the other trying to fix the slushy machine, and a red-headed customer looking at the fridges. Bobby went directly to the bored-looking cashier to pay for some gas, while she went straight to the snack aisle. 

She looked at the overfilled shelves, quickly taking the mini sugar donut packages and plenty of potato chip bags. It wasn’t long until her arms were completely occupied with the brightly colored bags. 

Her stomach grumbled loudly, letting her know that it was time to either eat once again or face the consequences.

That had also been a bother lately. Eating. 

The pangs of hunger had multiplied to an abnormal amount during the week. Every half an hour, her stomach would cause a riot for food until her eyes teared up in pain from the earth-shattering headache that sprouted from the back of her head. 

It was quite disorienting the first time she got that headache. She almost fell right on her face while running on the track if it weren’t for Mr. Logan’s quick reflexes.

──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ────

“That’s enough for today.” He growled out, helping her sit up on the bench. Her face was pale and sweaty, her mouth dry and panting.

Mr. Logan gently guided her head down, positioning it between her knees so she could take deeper breaths. The boys hadn’t made it to the field yet, still wrapped up in their practices, so it was up to the teacher to deal with this situation by himself.

Maximoff didn’t know when she had closed her eyes, but she snapped them open when a cold, wet towel was put over the back of her neck. Hissing and cursing at the sudden sensation until it brought a bit of relief. Then, a water bottle was pressed against her lips, instantly taking big gulps from it.

“Easy, bub. It’s not going anywhere.” He muttered, a heavy but warm hand patting gently her shoulder, until she finished the bottle.

When she tried to talk, her words sounded slurred and heavy. But he hushed her and shoved one of his snack bars into her hands, the plastic package already opened by him. She didn’t hesitate to take a bite, sighing deeply with her head hanging low and hunching in her seat.

“Did you eat before practice? You can’t run without having something to eat, kid.” He fumed in a sharp tone, his bushy eyebrows frowning at her while he stared at her from his kneeling position at her right side.

But she nodded, still chewing on her bar as her free hand unfolded the cold towel at her neck and put it over her head, hoping it would soothe the pounding between her ears.

“I did,” she croaked. “Took a whole meal from the cafeteria that was about to get trashed before it closed.”

“And water? Did you drink water today?” He prodded, frown deepening. 

“Yeah,” She drawled.

The teacher hummed to himself, sighing roughly as he stood up and walked to their things on the bench behind her. His thoughts go to all the possibilities this new development could mean to the girl. 

He knew speedsters burned calories way faster than the average person. He had seen Pietro down a ridiculous number of burgers in two minutes, and the disgusting sugary concoctions he makes when he’s on a sugar craving. Logan also remembered Hank’s trial-and-error phase to make a supplement that covered all of Pietro's bodily necessities, which resulted in the snack bars and protein shake that Pietro hated until they added some ice cream flavor to it. 

And it worked. To Pietro, at least.

But she wasn’t Pietro. Pietro was a grown adult, and she was a teenager. Pietro had complete control of his mutation when they met, and the kid just had her powers awakened. And no mutation is ever the same, no matter how similar they are.

Logan needed to get Hank down to Gotham, he would know what to do and the right things to ask. For now, he would have to make do with what he has at hand.

It would have to be enough for now.

──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ────

After that, Mr. Logan started to shove those snack bars right into her bag every morning as soon as she made it to his class. During the day, he also managed to find her around the campus to remind her to drink water and give her even more bars.

It was odd. Having such an intimidating man appear at every corner just to remind her to eat and take it easy. It was somewhat sweet, too. It meant he cared. That he cared enough to take some of his time just to make sure she was doing alright.

And that made her feel even worse.

Because, at the end of the day, she was unsure if she deserved it. All that care. All that attention. 

From Mr. Logan. 

From Bobby and Warren. 

Why did she get to have it and not Wayne?

It had been a constant thought in the past days. The feeling of taking something that wasn’t hers, that wasn’t meant to be hers. The constant sensations of wrongness when she looked in the mirror and felt as if she was doing everything wrong.

That she wasn’t the one who was supposed to be standing there. The one who was supposed to be filling the lungs of this body. The one who was supposed to be using that voice. The one who was supposed to feel, to touch, the breath, to talk, to eat, to walk, to-

Her eyes caught the reflection of the crystal on the fridge’s door.

Parts of her clothes hung off her body, the collarbone sticking out on the neck of her light grey top. The bones of her hands were more prominent and almost skeletal under the translucent light. Her cheeks were sunken and pale, along with the bags beneath her eyes. 

Her chest heaved sharply, words stuck behind her throat, but her mind was reeling nonstop.

Look what you did. You don’t deserve this body. It’s not even yours, and look how you treat it. So careless. Can’t take care of something that isn’t even yours. Why are you even here? You don’t deserve it. Why you and not her? Why are you breathing and not her? Why did you get the chance, and she didn’t? She is the one who deserves another chance. Not you. Why you? Why you? Why yoU? Why YOU?! WHY YOU? WHY YOU WHY YOU WHYYOUWHYOU-

“Breath with me.”

She shook her head, distantly hearing something fall to the ground, and her hands were weightless. Trembling and sweating between her fingers.

“Breath with me.”

Warm fingers wrapped around her wrist, making her flinch (It’s bone. It’s pure bone-), but it squeezed back and brought her hand up to put it against a firm surface. She felt the threads of fabric under her fingers, distantly recognizing that it was a chest by the beating sensation against her palm.

The heartbeat was going so fast. It was almost like it was buzzing. 

It felt oddly comforting. Almost familiar, in some weird sense. As if she had felt something like this before. A heartbeat going so fast that it was almost impossible to register normally.

‘Your mom used to say I was like a hummingbird. Always buzzing around and moving nonstop. I didn’t get it back then, but now? You get to be my own hummingbird.’

‘But I don’t wanna be a bird, Uncle Pie!’

‘No takebacks, my hummingbird! That means you’re my favorite!’

‘And what about Billy?’

‘What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!’

Her vision started to clear up, ears finally heard the background music from the gas station and Bobby’s panicked voice. Her eyes looked down at the ground, noticing the snacks lying around the floor. Thankfully, none of them were broken, just a bit dirty.

Then, she looked up, her reflection staring back at her once more. 

She looked normal, with no bones sticking out or sunken skin. Just wet cheeks and a bit pale in the face.

“Are you alright, babes?” Bobby asked, hands cooling her shoulders as he turned her around to take a closer look at her. She nodded slowly, not trusting her voice at the moment, by the feeling of dryness in her throat.

Just as she was about to turn back to pick up her mess on the ground, a man who had been standing beside them the whole time motioned her to stop and began to pick up the snacks quickly. Maximoff stared openly at him until he got up and started to hand over the chips.

He was rather tall, almost a whole head taller than her. Rosy skin with freckles over his nose and cheeks. He wore jeans and red running shoes, a dark red hoodie with a pocket at the front.

Red hair, all sprawled in different directions. As if the wind had been playing with it.

That wasn’t Uncle Pie.

“That’s not something to take lightly.” He said with a side smile. “Panic attacks and low sugar are a recipe for disaster. I would know.”

“Sorry, sir.” She muttered, looking to the side, fighting off the feeling of disappointment on her chest. “It’s been a long day.”

“Take it easy,” The man shrugged, taking a drink out of the fridge and handing it to Bobby. “Word of advice? Listen to your body. Ignoring it will make things worse.”

“Thanks, sir. We will keep it in mind,” Bobby butted in, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her to the cashier.

While Bobby paid for their things, Maximoff’s gaze stayed on the man the whole time. She knew what she heard and felt. Those heartbeats were almost similar to her own. Similar to Uncle Pie. And it wasn’t a normal heartbeat, since she even knew the difference between a normal one and the buzzing thing that she had on her chest.

That man was like her. And he knew she was like him.

The redhead was also looking at her, but only gave her a wink and put a finger to his lips before he walked out of the gas station.

She almost didn’t wait for Bobby to take the receipt before grabbing the bag with their stuff, pulling Bobby by the back of his jacket, and making it out the door as quickly as she could without drawing too much attention.

But when they made it outside, there was no sign of the man.

“Damn it!” She cursed, stomping her foot against the ground while Bobby flailed around behind her, disoriented. 

“What? What’s up?” He said, looking around the empty lot and fixing his clothes.

“That guy! He just-ugh!” She groaned, stomping towards their truck and swinging the plastic bag on her side with Bobby following her back, looking confused.

They reached the truck, Maximoff taking the passenger seat while muttering to herself and throwing the bag into the backseat without looking back, buckling her seat belt with a huff. She didn’t even hear if she accidentally woke up Warren from his nap, too deep in her head. 

Bobby took a few moments to get inside since he was putting up some gas in the truck. He sighed, putting on his seatbelt and starting up the engine. “Did you know that guy? He was a bit too friendly.”

“No, but he certainly knows something.” She pointed, frown deepening, and arms crossing.

“Do you think he had bad intentions?”

It took a moment for her to answer, but she shook her head. “No. I don’t think he did.” She bit her lip, leaning back against the seat. “I just thought he was someone else…”

Bobby nodded slowly, “You got your hopes up then?”

“You could say that.” She sighed. “It’s just, I don’t even know what to do anymore. What is even the point of this if I just keep getting into deeper shit and bullshit answers and it’s all just so pointless? I don’t even know how going to Arkham is going to help! Hell, who knows how we are even going to get in?!”

Bobby grabbed her arm since she was widely gesturing around and had almost hit him a couple of times. He pulled her gently, making Maximoff look at him with a tired look. Sleeping had also been difficult during the week.

Having dreams of that endless hall and a house that no longer existed was taking a toll on her.

“You’re taking things too fast.” He admonished. “We've only been doing this for a week. And the odds are not exactly in our favor. But you need to take it one step at a time and open up to us. Taking all of this on your own is not helping anyone, and especially not you.”

“But what if I fail? I could drag you and Warren, and even Wayne. I’m just failing everyone left and right, and I don’t-”

“You haven’t failed anyone!” He insisted, cold spiking against her skin. “You can’t say you failed when you just started! Saying that it’s more than an insult to me, to Warren, and Wayne!”

Maximoff butted in. “But I-”

“No buts! We are going to Arkham, you are talking to Harvey Dent, we are getting some real answers even if I have to freeze the goddamn island and everything is going. To. Be. Fine!”

The two of them glared at each other for a while, the windows of the truck covered in a mist of cold, preventing them from seeing the outside. Bobby’s hand had turned into ice, but it wasn’t burning her like the last time. The sleeve of her jacket was stuck against his fingers. Maximoff’s stare wavered for a moment, clicking her teeth before pulling her arm away from Bobby’s grip.

He seemed satisfied with her silent agreement, the temperature slowly rising up once again.

Just as he began to drive the car, Maximoff spoke silently.

“How are we even going to get in? We've got no plan.”

Before Bobby could open his mouth, a high-pitched voice with a heavy accent spoke from the backseat of the truck.

“Looks like you kiddos could use a li’l outside interference!”

The two teens slowly turned to look at each other, eyes wide and lips thin. Then, even more slowly, they looked to the backseat with the feeling of dread looming behind their necks.

A tided-up Warren glared at them with fury, his mouth biting on the sleeve of his uniform jacket while his pants were tied tightly around his arms. A woman with white hair in two ponytails, one red and the other black, had an arm over the blonde’s shoulder while grinning sweetly at the other two.

“Lucky for you,” She announced, jostling Warren a bit on her side. “ Auntie Harley’s is feelin’ generous at the moment!”

Maximoff’s eye twitched when she caught Wayne’s form behind the cackleling woman, taking notice of the innocent shrug the ghost gave to her.

She was totally going to do a salt circle around her bed tonight.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Maybe getting to the recital two hours early was a bit too much. But Bruce didn’t hear any of the kids complaining about it, and neither would he.

It had been pretty easy to reschedule a couple of meetings back at Wayne Enterprises. Tim may have also had a hand in it, but Bruce was quite adamant to be the one to do it personally at the office, and give his secretary the proper paperwork and new schedule dates so she could make the calls.

Though he had been reading over the proposals made by Worthington Industries on the limo while Alfred drove, he still needed to oversee them with Tim before making any final decisions for their upcoming meeting next week. 

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They even made some good points that Bruce wanted to discuss in person with Mr. Worthington. 

Aside from the founding of the vaccine, Worthington was willing to discuss an alliance with Wayne Enterprises for a new security system. It wasn’t detailed on what exactly this proposal included, but Tim had supposed it had to do with some security cameras made out of some new material.

The way Bruce saw it, it could be a new option for his nightly job depending on what Worthing presented at the meeting.

Business aside, just like the rest of the kids, Bruce was also trying to keep his mind busy.

He knew he had fucked up. Badly. 

His daughter refused to look him in the eye the whole week. Avoided the kitchen like the plague in the mornings despite his efforts to get up early in the morning (even after a long night of patrol) just so he could say good morning or ask her how she slept. In the afternoons, before he could go down to the cave, Bruce would knock on her door, hoping she would open it and allow him to see her face.

He didn’t care if she was glaring at him or didn’t speak to him. He just needed to see her.

But she never opened the door. She never came out of her room. She would just turn up her music and ignore the knocking.

Not even deep into the night, her door wouldn’t budge when he tried to open it. 

He just wanted to check on her. See her for a moment, even though she was asleep. Just see that she's alright, that she was sleeping well. Maybe even see if she still slept curled up under her blankets as if it were a cocoon, looking so small and fragile in the middle of that bed.

Was it too much to ask? He just needs to see-

“That’s him,” Dick hissed by his ear, glaring at the end of the hall with his hands shoved into his pockets. “That’s the man I told you about.”

Bruce locked those thoughts in the back of his mind, posture steeling and shoulders squared up as his eyed drifted towards the spot Dick was staring at.

There, standing in the hall while leaning against a wall, was a teacher who smoked an old cigar by an open window. Looking gruff and standoffish in a brown leather jacket, and glaring at the floor.

Logan Munroe. 

History teacher. Graduated from the University of Toronto. Canadian. Forty-five years old. Married with a seven-year-old daughter. Lived in New York for the past sixteen years. Moved to Gotham for this sole semester as a substitute teacher.

And, by Dick’s words, a creep that had been eyening his daughter since he started working at the Academy.

Getting to the recital early turned out to be an advantage.

Bruce nodded towards Dick, letting him go to be with the rest of them who had left to wander around the halls of the campus. Probably trying to find their sister before the recital, just so they could wish her good luck on her presentation.

Tonight, they would start from scratch. 

A do-over. 

They would gain back her trust and affection, never taking it for granted again.

Logan didn’t lift his gaze, not even when Bruce made it to his side. The sharply dressed man waited for him to do something, anything, but Logan simply continued to smoke his cigar without a single sign of acknowledgement.

It made Bruce’s jaw tighten.

“You must be Mr. Munroe, I suppose.” He greeted, that fake tone that he used around the public, making Logan’s eyebrow twitch as he raised his head to look at the man. Bruce smiled sharply, offering his hand to shake. “My daughter is in your class, and she speaks very fondly of you. I’m Br-”

“Mr. Wayne, I know.” He gruffed, putting out his cigar with the edge of the window and throwing it out there. Logan shook his hand, staring directly at his eyes and gripping tightly.

Bruce gripped back, his smile tightening before letting go. The teacher had heavy and strong hands. And an even tighter grip.

“I was wondering how she was doing at school. She is not exactly a fan of it, if you get what I mean.” He laughed, refusing to look away from the man’s stare.

Logan huffed, leaning his leg against the wall and crossing his arms. “Could have fooled me. She loves being here. Had to insist a couple of times so she would go in her grandfather’s car and go home.”

Bruce’s eyes crinkled at the corners, almost hearing the message the man was trying to say.

“Alfred is our butler, actually.”

“Hm, so your butler?” He drawled, a sarcastic edge on his voice. “Guess I got confused, since he’s always picking her up. Does he also get paid as a chauffeur?”

“I’m more concerned about my daughter than what Alfred gets paid for at the moment, Mr. Munroe.” Bruce retorted, feeling his neck pulsing hotly against his dress shirt.

Logan nodded, fighting off his smirk and settling down. “Well, she is a smart girl. Alert on class. Always asks questions and gets a bit heated when it comes to class debates. Quite competitive, if I’m being honest.”

Bruce took hold of that information as if hoarding a book. A sense of pride filled his chest. Of course, she was smart! She probably soaked up information as if she were a sponge and used it to her advantage. And competitive? He wasn’t sure that was possible, and she was pretty passive, but either way, it meant she was confident to speak up and show how brilliant she-

“Though I am concerned about what she eats at home.”

…Eat?

Bruce frowned, his voice turning serious. “What does that mean?”

Logan narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “Are you home a lot, sir?”

“Whenever is possible, but yes.”

The teacher put his hands on his hips, jaw twitching as he lifted himself from the wall and took a few steps closer to the other man. “Do you just stay holed up in your fancy office working, or are you truly home?”

“That’s out of your business, Mr. Munroe.” Bruce's voice darkened, grey eyes steeling as he looked down at the frowning man.

“Right, I’m sorry,” Logan gruffed out, scratching his scruffy jaw. “Out of my pay, right?”

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, the tension growing colder and colder the more the silence reigned between them. It was already darkening outside, and the shoes squeaking against the tiles broke them out of their glaring contest.

Tim made his way towards them, frowning at the scene before him until he reached Bruce. “They already opened the amphitheater. Dick insists on getting the best seats.”

Bruce nodded, patting Tim’s shoulder. “Did you find your sister?”

He shook his head, eyebrows twisting in displeasure. “No, the practice rooms are blocked. We tried getting in but Dick dragged us outside to find you. He says we can’t interrupt her from her practice.”

Logan snorted, gaining looks from the other two. Bruce nodded at the man, starting to walk away with Tim at his side. “A pleasure, Mr. Munroe. We must get going.”

“Sure, enjoy your evening.” He answered, a strange look on his face, before he disappeared down the hall with his hands shoved into his pockets.

And just like that, Logan Munroe made his way on top of Bruce’s black list.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Turns out, getting into Arkham was easy.

Aside from the fact that security was shit, having an ex-employee that knew the place like the back of her hand on their side helped out a lot.

Harley, or as she insisted on being called, Auntie Harley, had a basic plan to get into Arkham from the very beginning. She was planning on stealing a vehicle and pretending to be a security worker with a uniform that she stole from someone (whether the person was alive or dead wasn’t asked) and then getting into the facility to break out her wife from Arkham after she got arrested for an attack earlier that week in one of Gotham’s parks.

Apparently, Poison Ivy could break out if she wanted to, but Harley insisted on doing the rescuing this time. Or something like that.

Bobby tried to explain it could be a foreplay thing, but Warren shut him up real quick before he could say anything else. Wayne just wheezed by Maximoff’s ear while all three of them hid on the back seat floor, Harley driving on the front while she talked pure nonsense to the bored-looking guard before allowing them to drive through the gates of the asylum.

She drove them through the back of the facility, ordering them to stay in the truck until she came back. They thought of just saying fuck it and go inside but she suddenly appeared with three more uniforms and three knocked out guards that she shoved into the truck.

“I’m pretty sure we can go to jail for this.” Warren hissed, adjusting his cap so none of his hair could be seen.

“Where’s your sense of adventure, dude?” Bobby whispered, gleaming as they walked behind Harley through the dark and worn walls of the place.

Warren hit Bobby from the back, making him wince as they passed another sleepy guard sitting in the hall. “More like a sense of self-preservation. Did you forget we got kidnapped?!”

“Is it kidnapping if we were already planning on getting here?” Maximoff whispered over her shoulder, feeling a bit annoyed at the tight cap on her head that held her hair inside.

She needed to cut it off soon, or she would take the scissors herself and end up looking like-

“Okay, sweetcheeks,” Harley spun around suddenly, making them gulp and stop on the spot while she pointed at the bronze gate before them. “This is the meetin’ spot, so don’t forget it!”

The three of them nodded sharply at the same time, making her squeal and cackle. Then she shoved her finger at them with a wide look. “You got an hour, then I’m peelin’ outta here with or without ya. And trust me, ya don’t wanna walk home!”

“Thanks!” Maximoff said with a grin. The teens went through the gate, encountering a long hall that was divided to the left and right at the end, metal doors with numbers and voices murmuring or yelling from inside the rooms.

The girl turned to look at the rogue, who was already walking down another hall. “Do you know his cell?” she asked loudly.

Harlye looked over her shoulder, not once stopping her walk. “Easy-peasy, sugar! Ol’Harv’s sittin’ pretty in cell 314. Be a doll an’ tell ‘im he still owes me a new deck o’ cards, will ya’?”

She nodded with a smile and pulled Warren and Bobby down the other hall, following the numbers on the wall while ignoring the voices from the rooms and wandering eyes from the small windows on the doors.

An electric clock marked the hour on a wall before they disappeared down the right hall.

7:45 PM

Welcome to Arkham, indeed.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Author's note: Here's Part 1! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! It took me a while to write it because of many thing getting in the way through the past two weeks (good things tho!). Next part will try to be out around Saturday or Sunday, still figuring out because of my filming and class schedule, but I'll keep you guys updated! Remember that I love answering asks and comments, don't hesitate to send them! Sending you lots of hugs and love, GG✨

Tag list:

@bat1212 @kneelforloki @1abi @galaxypurplerose @yhin-gg @cxcilla @momentomoribitch @stargirl404 @welpthisisboring @icefox8155 @bunniotomia @alittlelostmoonchild @devotedlyshamelessdetective @shycreatorreview @nirvanaxx1942 @soulsire @ryuushou @rinkydinkythinky @lithiumval @ithoughtthinks @reeyy0-2 @cssammyyarts @lordbugs @ilovecoffe0 @kore-of-the-underworld @fortunatelydifferentqueen @vanessa-boo @livingund3ad @aelxr @im-so-goddamn-tired @lovebug-apple @staarflowerr @xoxoyukixoxo @whyiseveryuseenametaken @holderoflostmemories @doggyteam2028 @leeiasure @shadowypeachsweets @jjoppees @astraeasworld @wrenbirde @scarletdfox @letsbedragonstogether @exactlynumberonekryptonite @randomlyappearingartist @angwlart @ceramic-raven @vndexd @suneaterscape @initial-ari

Bonus Memes:

[hakodate-division]

"The little things in life are sometimes the most important."

Introduction

Ted Bridges is the second member of the Hakodate Division rap battle team, Kuma no ie. He is known by his MC name, Teddy. A former veteran in the Canadian army, Ted retired from military service after WWIII ended and vowed to give up violence. After the death of his beloved wife, he fled to Hakodate and now lives a quiet life in the mountains with his son. But what will happen when unfortunate circumstances force him to give up his life of peace and take up arms again?

A heavily-built man in his late 30s with a rugged mountain-man appearance, Ted is a lot heavier and taller than most men. He has very noticeable muscles on his arms and chest due to his time serving in the army, and his current life as a mountain man. He has brown eyes and bright red hair that is cut short. His hair color is not natural, as he dyed it, along with his eyebrows, a different color when he escaped to Hakodate. He also has some peach fuzz growing on his chin. His body is riddled with faded scars, most of which he got while wrestling with bears up in the mountains. A few are from his time serving in the military. The most noticeable one is the one on his face across the bridge of his nose.

For his attire, he wears a tight black muscle shirt that outlines the muscles on his chest. Over it, he wears a brown leather military jacket that is unbuttoned. On his bottom, he wears a pair of black jeans and a pair of brown boots with matching-colored socks. Around his neck, he wears a dog tag that is also from his time in the military. And around his head is a black bandana. In one of the pockets of his jacket is a gold locket, which is a memento from his wife.

Name Meaning

Ted - 'Wealthy guardian. Also an abbreviation of Theodore.'

Bridges - 'variant of Bridge. In some cases, this name denoted someone from the Flemish city of Bruges (Brugge) in Belgium meaning ‘bridges’ which had extensive trading links with England in the Middle Ages.'

Aliases

"The Bear"

Dad/Father/Papa - His son

Teddy - His wife

Ted-san - Kotan

Biographical Info

Gender - Male

Age - 38

Birthday - March 23rd

Ethnicity - American Canadian

Hair Color - Bright Red (Dyed)

Eye Color - Dark Brown

Height - 209 cm/6'10"

Weight - 134 kg/295 lb.

Star Sign - Aries

Piercings - None

Markings - Multiple scars on the majority of his body, most of which are faded. He also has a bear tattoo on his upper right arm, and one covering the majority of his back.

Family

Mother (Deceased)

Father (Deceased)

Wife (Deceased)

Son

Voiced By - ZORN (Rapping)

Fun Facts

MC Name - Teddy

Occupation - Lumberjack

Division - Hakodate

Position - Second Member

Favorite Food - Grilled Fish

Least Favorite Food - Sauerkraut

Likes - Peace, the mountains, his work, cold mornings, his son, his wife, bears, the Ainu people, sunsets, cold beer after a hard day's work, brewing his own beer, Nature, solitude

Dislikes - Violence, thinking about his past, anything related to Chuohku, anything that disturbs his peaceful life, harm to his son, noise pollution, poachers, disrespect to bears

Hypnosis Microphone

Ted's Microphone is a gold condenser microphone on a silver stand. The mic, itself, takes the form of a labrys, a double-bladed axe, and the mic appears in the middle of the blades.

His Speaker takes the form of a gold heart-shaped locket, similar to the one he keeps in his coat pocket. When he begins rapping, it opens up, revealing a speaker inside.

His rap ability, Heart of the Mountains, drastically increases Ted's defense, protecting him from minor blows from his opponents. He can keep this ability active for as long as he wants, but the longer it's active, the more stamina and energy he uses up.

Ted's rap themes are centered around his life, and his desire to keep it as peaceful as he can. He often raps about incidents from his past that have shaped him into the man that he is. He also mentions the love he has for his life, his family, Hakodate, and Japan, as a whole.

Personality

To say that Ted is an intimidating figure would be putting it lightly. He is quite scary when angered and his large stature doesn't exactly help matters. He doesn't make attempts to hide his disliking for people strangers or people who he feels are attempting to ruin the peaceful life he has made with his son. An excellent judge of character, he can easily discern what kind of character a person is just from their look or stance alone. It has caused him to chase more than a few people off the mountains where he lives.

Once a decorated war hero who made a name for himself during the Third World War, Ted was known as a remorseless and cold soldier. His fury in battle, as well as his appearance, gave him the moniker, "The Bear". However, he was also known to be very cautious, often taking precautions in battle. It was this behavior that caused the death of one of his closest war buddies, whom Ted feels he could have saved if he had been more aggressive. After witnessing the horrors brought on by conflict, the gruff man eventually resigned and went on to start a family. From then on, he was known for his kind, yet firm demeanor and humbleness.

Knowing what it's like to go into battle and have to kill, Ted strongly dislikes senseless violence and has an extreme disliking for killing. That's not to say that he doesn't enjoy a good brawl now and then. In his spare time when he is not working as a woodsman, he'll often be found wrestling with some of the bears found in the mountains, considering it a good sport. Also, whenever he comes across poachers or people who seek to do him or his son harm, he always hurts them to the point where they get the message to not return to the mountains again. Usually, one well-placed punch is enough for most people to get the message.

Underneath his rough demeanor, Ted is a loving father who only cares for the well-being of his son. Though it takes a while to earn his trust, he is known to be a good friend to many. He automatically befriended the Ainu people living in the valley below the mountains when he saved a bear cub from a bunch of poachers. This caused the Ainu people to see the foreign lumberjack as one of them. And though he didn't have to, he saved Kokomi when she was injured, nursing her back to health, which earned him her friendship and admiration.

Another aspect of Ted is his hatred for anything involving Chuohku. He dislikes the matriarchal government due to the fact that he blames them for the death of his wife. Though Chuohku insists that her death was a "workplace accident", Ted firmly believes that she was killed for less-than-honorable reasons. He now dislikes anything to do with them. Despite that, he hasn't done anything to directly oppose them, not caring at all what they do so long as they leave him and his son alone.

Background

*Coming soon*

Trivia

Though he owns a chalet to sleep in, he often chooses to sleep outside, feeling more at peace on the ground.

He ferments and creates his own type of beer, which is a hit for the people of Hakodate and the surrounding cities. He refuses to give up the recipe or market it.

His birthday is the same day as 'World Bear Day'.

As stated, he often spends his free time wrestling bears. Out of 200 matches, 199 of them have been won in his favor. The only one that wasn't was declared a 'draw'.

Though he has no solid proof, Ted believes that his wife was approached by Chuohku because she had the ability to "speak" to animals, as if able to understand what they were saying. He often worries that his son has the same ability, which was one of the reasons he moved to Hakodate from Okinawa.

[denkamis]

hq characters as cheesy valentine’s day tropes.

masterlist. | valentine’s day event masterlist.

warnings: none! aside from some swearing, it’s just some fluffy valentine’s day scenarios for you. reader is gn.

characters: keiji akaashi, kenma kozume, yuu nishinoya, koushi sugawara.

notes: dedicated to @koushisun,, for being an exceptionally kind individual and having immaculate taste in 2d men. i hope we can get closer the more we talk, kris. thank you for being my first friend here on da tumbz. <33

keiji akaashi

confessions behind the school building

were you nervous about finally confessing your feelings to akaashi on valentine’s day of all days? absolutely

he was one of, if not the prettiest, impressively athletic, and overwhelmingly intelligent boys in your class

he probably got at least ten confessions on the daily

and valentine’s day simply doubled the number

and here you were, with your tiny valentine’s day card and box of chocolates in hand

you had heard from all the girls that he had been turning down confessions left and right, only adding onto your mountain of nerves

little did you know that he was waiting for you

cherry blossoms bloomed above your heads, falling gracefully like something right out of a shoujo anime. you tapped the tip of your shoe against the pavement, a nervous tick you had garnered that helped keep you grounded. this was it. this was the moment today was leading up to. you and akaashi were standing behind fukurodani, stealing away a bit of privacy. you didn’t need the prying eyes of the other girls watching as you confessed to your year long crush.

akaashi waited with a patient gaze, unmoving from his spot a few feet ahead of you. he gave you space, and didn’t force you to talk right away. it was as if he already knew the intricacies of your thoughts, the way your mind spiraled if you were suddenly put on the spot, especially when it was as intimate and open as confessing your feelings.

“i wanted to tell you, i mean- what i’ve been trying to tell you for years is that i, well,” your tongue felt like it was two sizes too big. your fingers fidgeted behind your back, holding onto the tiny note and chocolates you had made for him yourself. “i like you a lot more than i really let on. you’re always so thoughtful and considerate. you listen to me when i ramble, and you help me with homework or even small things i don’t completely understand. that’s um, that’s really nice of you. i know you’ve probably received a lot of gifts today, but if you could spare a bit of your backpack space to accept mine, it would mean the world to me.” you bowed towards him, eyes glued to the floor as you held out the small box of chocolates and the note you had written.

you didn’t catch the way a smile tugged at his usually stoic features, or the way he tilted his head in thought while wondering how much courage you mustered up to confess like this. still, you felt nimble fingers brushing against yours, the weight of your gift leaving your grip.

“thank you, y/n,” akaashi told you gratefully as you stood up to your full height, “i’m glad that you feel the same as i do.”

“... wait what.”

kenma kozume

heart shaped candies

kenma rarely has plans for valentine’s day tbh

he treats it like any other day because it’s just a day to play some animal crossing and farm more on stardew valley

however, when you waltz into his life, he panics a little bit as the date draws closer

he wants to make you feel special on valentine’s day

he settled for those tiny heart shaped candies, knowing that you had quite the sweet tooth

he wasn’t gonna leave you hanging on valentine’s day, sweetheart

kenma held your hand in his as the two of you walked home together. the day was rainy, small droplets of water pattering against the shared umbrella the two of you were situated beneath. you were talking about school, something or other about the clubs you were in and how passionate you were about starting your very own this year. kenma listened tentatively, an easy smile on his face as he watched your eyes light up and your free hand gesture and fly about as you spoke.

you were adorable.

the two of you soon arrived at your house, and you promised kenma that you would call him tonight so the two of you could play games or watch some netflix together over the internet. you two had been particularly invested in some k-drama that always left the two of you at the edge of your seats. you planted a gentle kiss to his cheek, his face erupting in crimson right to the tips of his ears. giggling quietly, you wished him goodbye, your hand beginning to slide from his as you went to leave. to your surprise, he held on tighter.

with his gaze cast down, you watched as he pulled out a tiny bag of heart shaped candies from his pocket. “i know it’s not much, but i saw everyone else getting their partners gifts and kuroo said that it would be good if i got you something too.”

you accepted his small token of affection with shaky hands and flushed cheeks. peering inside the clear bag, you saw a whole collection of multi-coloured candies reading cheesy phrases such as ‘b mine’, ‘true love’ or even a ‘cutiepie.’

“kenma, i love it. oh my.. haha! i thought you forgot since you didn’t mention anything about gifts for today.” kenma’s hand squeezed yours, his eyes lifting from the wet ground to meet your own with a small yet confident smile.

“i wouldn’t forget something as important as you.”

yuu nishinoya

big teddy bears

an absolutely chaotic mess on valentine’s day

he’s so excited that he finally has someone to spoil, so he wants to go all out

he figured that the best present to get you was the biggest teddy bear he could find

he went to 6 stores and dragged asahi and tanaka with him

he saw a teddy bear that was literally twice his size and went “I’LL TAKE IT”

mans has no chill, he spent literally his entire allowance on it

his grandpa didn’t even bat an eye PFFT

when nishinoya showed up at your doorstep with a chunky teddy bear in tow, you had no words. truly. it had been at the stroke of midnight when he texted you to come outside and see the valentine’s gift he had gotten you. you had said that this could wait until morning, but he insisted that this could not wait another moment. it was technically valentine’s day, after all! this resulted in you dragging yourself down the stairs of your home to greet him at the door. to your surprise, yet at the same time not surprising you in the slightest, was noya carrying the largest teddy bear you had ever laid your eyes on. not only that, but tanaka and what appeared to be a very exhausted asahi accompanied him.

“y/n-chan!” nishinoya shouted boldly and triumphantly, getting down on one knee which instantly made you panic. he wasn’t going to propose, was he? no he wouldn’t. would he? oh god. your words got caught in your throat, trying to formulate some kind of response to his sudden and incoming declaration. yet, a proposal never came. he held up the teddy bear as if it were simba from the lion king, the entire stuffed animal basically shielding his shorter form from your view. you suppressed a snort with your hand.

“i searched far and wide for this gigantic teddy bear for you, please accept it this valentine’s day!” nishinoya said loud and clear from behind the bear. you were having trouble stifling your laughter because from your angle, it looked like the bear itself was saying these words to you. you attempted to take the huge bear from his arms but it ended up being a lot heavier than you anticipated.

“noya, really this is-”

“take the picture!” noya whisper shouted to tanaka, who was holding up his phone camera with a thumbs up. noya posed beside you with an arm tossed around your waist, throwing up a peace sign and sticking out his tongue. leave it to yuu nishinoya to spoil you with the biggest bear he could find. it was incredibly endearing, especially when you found out from asahi that he nearly got kicked out from a walmart after knocking down the entire teddy bear display. he could be the biggest dork sometimes. but you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

koushi sugawara

baking together

he saw the idea on pinterest and he had to try it out with you

they were cupcakes red velvet with pink, buttercream frosting

easy, right? it would be a cute little date, you could even stay over at his house while you watched a romcom or something of the sort while they were baking

turns out it wasn’t easy

at all

“shit fuck, oh god- shit!” koushi mumbled to himself as he was spilling some of the red cupcake mix over the side of the bowl. you were trying your best not to laugh too much but you couldn’t help your giggles when koushi shot you a playfully annoyed glare, his nose powered with sugar and flourmaking him look straight out of a victorian magazine. baking with koushi had gone just as well as you thought it would. there was a lot of flour being thrown around, a few stray chocolate chips and sprinkles now on the floor serving as reminders of past quarrels. koushi had always been a rather chaotic individual behind his “soft boy” demeanour he liked to flaunt. he could be so goofy and fun. he could be your greatest hype man but also the person you knew could be in your corner when it counted. and here the two of you were, making a mess in your shared kitchen at nine at night for a valentine’s day date.

“honey, you’re mixing it too fast!”

“i’m mixing it just fine, see look! it’s supposed to be this thick,” his ahoge bobbed back and forth atop his head as he mixed with quite literally his entire torso. his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he focused hardcore on the making sure the mixture was abolished of any and all chunkiness present. you rolled your eyes, a wide smile on your face despite his stubbornness. “the oven’s been preheating for thirty minutes now.”

“well the oven can wait,” he huffed, tapping the neck of the whisk against the bowl to remove the excess mix before grabbing a ladle to begin scooping all the mix into the muffin tin. not without another mess, of course.

“kou, stop moving the—”

“i’m not moving anything, you’re just making me laugh!”

“hand me the spoon, hand it over.”

“it’s not a spoon!”

“it’s a big ass spoon.”

“y/n!”

you were bickering like an old married couple as your hands reached greedily for the ladle that already had some cupcake mix in it. koushi held it out of your reach, causing him to back up into the counter while you hopped in an attempt to get it back. in your desperate attempts, you slipped on the flour from your little past war and caused the two of you to collapse to the floor in a heap of giggles and laughter.

yeah, you two would definitely never be touching any sort of recipe after that day, you absolute menaces.

all works © denkamis 2021.

tags:

@meilbox

want to be on the taglist? see this post!

[killiansprincss]

The Perfect Gift

Happy Valentines Day to all! So when you’re Single AF like me what better way to spend the day than to write about CS spending Valentines Day? So here it is, Captain Swan with Captain Beauty friendship. 

SUMMARY: When Killian learns about Valentine’s Day and Emma won’t go into much detail, he consults Belle who helps him plan the perfect gift for Emma. Pure Valentine’s Day Fluff. Also on A03

Set in the 6 weeks of peace, let’s say Valentine's Day was during this time.

Killian Jones liked to think he was getting the hang of this strange world. Emma had given him a talking phone to contact her when he needed to. Well he’d mastered the Emma button, and half the time she would answer. But most times he would leave a voice message.

He was also getting Belle to help him understand texting, she had described it as writing a letter that is delivered instantly and Emma can read it and reply with a letter of her own when she sees it. There were also funny little drawings when you could send in the text, Belle had said the name before but he couldn’t remember-it was a funny little name. But they had faces, happy, crying and even little heart drawings which he liked to send at the end of his letter-text-to Emma. He saw the way her face lit up when she opened one in front of him once, and he wanted that reaction every time so he continued to use them.

On the topic of hearts, Killian was seeing them all over Storybrooke lately. It was overnight almost, heart shaped teddy bears had appeared in the stores, and even Granny’s was decorated with them. Everything was decorated in pink and red, was this normal for this world? Or was there some strange love curse that had affected the town?

“What’s with all these hearts popping up around town?” He asks Emma when they’re having breakfast at Granny’s one morning.

Taking a break from her stack of pancakes, “It’s Valentine’s Day next week. It’s a stupid holiday we have in this world don’t worry about it.” Emma didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, she had never celebrated Valentine’s Day before unless she was catching a perp and she didn’t want to stress Killian out about it-he was busy figuring out how to save the fairies, Valentine’s Day wasn’t important.

But that didn’t explain the hearts. What was a celebration of hearts all about? And why was Emma so against it?

He turns to Belle, hoping she’d have the answers.

“Valentine’s Day is a holiday this world celebrates. The hearts are popping up over town because it’s a holiday about love, you ask someone you love or like, to be your Valentine. You normally get each other a card and a present maybe, or even go out for a romantic dinner.” Belle explains. Killian assumes she must not be feeling great about this holiday of love after banishing the Dark One.

“So I’m supposed to ask Emma to be my Valentine? And get her a heart shaped gift?” Killian liked the idea of this holiday. Even though those 3 special words hadn’t been spoken yet, he knew how Emma felt about him. He also wanted to show Emma how much she meant to him.

Belle chuckles as she looks through one of her books. “You don’t have to get her something heart shaped. But you could get her something special-something you know she likes or would like. Some girls receive jewellery from their boyfriends, or knowing Emma she may appreciate a Granny’s gift card!”

“Would you help me? I want to find Emma the perfect gift for this Valentine’s Day.” Killian assumed considering her past, she hasn’t celebrated the day in a while and wanted to make sure she knew she was appreciated, and loved (just without saying it, he didn’t need Emma’s walls going up when he was working hard to knock them down)

Belle smiles at her friend. “I’d love to help.”

__

And so Killian sets out to find Emma the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. He considers what Belle said about a Granny’s gift card, but that’s not special enough. No Emma deserves something better.

He finds a card straight away, it’s two Swans kissing with a heart above them, feels appropriate and will hopefully make her laugh too. He wants to see that spark in her eyes he gets to see when she’s happy. While they had only been courting, or ‘dating’ as Emma calls it, for a few months he still couldn’t believe sometimes that they’re together. He never thought he’d see her again when they were cursed, and seeing her at her door in New York was one of the most incredible feelings, even if she didn’t know who he was.

She didn’t judge him for his past, she never did, even before they were together. She understands that it wasn’t always a pirate's life, and that he experienced loss and heartbreak the same as she had. For once in his 300 years, he had someone know the pain he had gone through, he could open up about his abandonment without the other person feeling sorry for him. Emma was abandoned too, so she understood how it felt to be alone.

He looked in the Jewellery store on Main Street to see if there was something that screamed Emma. Sure there were beautiful necklaces and bracelets, but he didn’t want to get her just anything, she wasn’t just anybody: she was Emma, his Emma. She deserved the world, and that’s all he wanted to give her.

Until he comes across a locket. The locket in the store is worth more than the doubloons he carries around (which only Granny seemed to accept), but an idea struck in his head. Sure his ship was gone, but he did keep a few things before he traded it to Blackbeard. And one of those things was a small locket his mother had. It opened up to reveal a small drawing of her and his father on one side, and on the other side was Killian and Liam.

“How would I go about filling a locket?” He asks Belle that afternoon. He didn’t have many possessions coming back to Storybrooke, but he could fit a surprising amount in his leather coat, including said locket, so he finds his old jacket at the back of the closet and finds the locket in one of the pockets.

He shows Belle his mother’s locket and she takes a look at the drawings inside and smiles fondly. Like with Emma, Belle doesn’t pry into his past-she knows he was also a man before his days as a villain that had lost people. “At Granny’s tonight, I will get my camera and take photos of you all, I’ll say it’s for an album full of memories. Then I can print the photos out and cut them into small enough shapes for the locket.”

“Thank you Belle. I appreciate it. How are you feeling about this day? I know it can’t be easy considering the Dark One and all.”

“I actually won’t be alone on Valentine’s Day.” She says shyly, Killian tries to think who could have caught her eye in Storybrooke. “Will, uh Will Scarlet has asked me out, and I accepted.”

Killian smiles, Will was an annoying bastard but he was a good guy and would treat his friend right-far better than the Dark One ever did. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you Killian.” She smiles. “And Emma is going to love the locket.”

__

That evening the extended Charming family meet for dinner at Granny’s as they do every Friday. Henry is complaining about homework, Regina is dealing with mayor matters, and Killian and Emma are just happy. They share some rum while Emma talks about her day, how she was called to The Rabbit Hole to break up a fight between Leroy and a bartender who wouldn’t serve him anymore alcohol. Killian tells her that he and Belle are making progress on freeing the fairies-Belle was still working on a translation.

They hadn’t talked about Valentine’s Day since his original question, he wanted to surprise her, which is why he acted none the wiser when Belle walked into the diner with her camera.

“Everyone, get together. I want to make a scrapbook!” She says gesturing for everyone to pose.

She gets Snow and Charming to pose for a picture. Then Emma and Killian, then Emma Killian and Henry and a whole bunch of other combinations until she decides she’s happy.

“Do you have any idea what that’s about?” Emma asks Killian once she leaves.

“Not a clue luv.” He lies putting his arm around her, pressing a kiss to her head, hoping she doesn’t become suspicious. Weirder things have happened in this town.

__

The day before Valentine’s Day, Belle shows him the finished locket. On one side, a picture of Henry and his grandparents and the other side was a picture of himself and Emma. He hoped she would look at it and be reminded that she had so many people who loved and cared about her. They had peace for now, but who knows how long it will last before the next monster or villain comes to town.

Emma stays with Killian on the night before Valentines. Something about not wanting to walk in on her parents. So it gives him the perfect opportunity to give Emma her gift in the morning.

“Ugh What time is it?” Emma stirs in her half awake sleep. Killian had been awake for almost an hour, excited for the day, and to give Emma her gift.

“It’s almost 7 luv.” He kisses her head as she stirs, clearly wanting more sleep. “And Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Her eyes almost immediately open at the sound of those four words and groans. “What have you been told? It’s really not that big of a deal this day.”

She sits up in bed, worried to see what big romantic gesture Killian had planned.

“But Swan, I wanted to know if you would be my Valentine?” He asks with his cute pouty smile that makes Emma weak. He fixes his Hook on and then grabs a card and a rose from the drawer.

Emma groans, this is exactly what she was afraid of if she mentioned Valentine’s Day. She wasn’t good at the whole displaying emotions and expressing love, and there was also the fact she had never experienced Valentine’s Day with a boyfriend before. Being on the run with Neal, they didn’t exactly do romantic dates, especially not Valentines Day ones.

She can’t help but smile at her pirate boyfriend, taking the rose as she gets out of bed to kiss him. “Thank you. You really didn’t need to do this though.”

She opens the card and can’t help but grin at the two Swans. It makes Killians day already, just seeing her smile first thing in the morning, and the way he was able to make her smile. “That’s adorable.”

“I may have one other thing too.” He says, pulling out a white box wrapped in red ribbon from behind him.

“Killian!” She groans, he had already done too much.

“Open it.” He says handing it to her with a grin as wide as ever.

She takes the small box and unwraps the ribbon that he so clearly didn’t wrap-A hook for a hand doesn’t seem like it would wrap a bow as neatly as this one, she wonders who he got to help in his master plan. The lid to the box opens and she finds a silver locket wrapped among white tissue paper. It’s a little rusty but cleaned as best as it could be-clearly it’s not new or bought from a store here.

‘ A. Jones ’ is engraved on the back.

“Alice Jones. My mother. This was her locket.” Killian explains.

Emma opens up the locket to see the photos Belle took the other night. Well that explains what that was about, and who had helped him plan all this.

Inside the locket, her parents and Henry on one side, and her and Killian on the other. They all look happy, and in all honesty this was the first picture she had seen of herself where she looked especially happy.

“Killian. It’s beautiful, but I can’t accept this. This was your mother’s, the only thing you probably have of hers.” She thought he had spent all his doubloons that people of Storybrooke still seem to accept-but this was worse, it was something that belonged to the woman who knew him before he was a pirate.

He had never mentioned his mother, this was the first time she had heard her name. She must have been pretty important, and another death that broke Killian.

“Nonsense love. I couldn’t think of a better person my mother would want her locket to go to.” He takes it from her hands and opens the clasp, gesturing for Emma to hold her hair back as he clips it round her neck.

Emma admires the pictures, the people she loved most were in it. It was a beautiful gift. It was the first time anybody had given her something so sentimental.

“I officially win the award for the worst girlfriend ever. I didn’t want to make a huge deal out of it, and didn’t want you to feel pressured.” She tells him.

“I get it Swan. You didn’t have many people in your life before you came to Storybrooke. I don’t know much about this holiday, but Belle told me it’s about spending it with the people you care about, make them know you appreciate them.” He’s careful not to say the L word, it may be the day of love-but that doesn’t give him an excuse to say it before Emma’s ready herself.

It was though Killian was looking into her soul or something. He got her, really got her. One of the only people who understood her. “You didn’t need to get me anything really. You traded your ship to come find me-your home. You literally win boyfriend of the century with that one.”

“I didn’t do it to win points Emma. I traded the Jolly because I knew you were more important. And you don’t need to get me a present in return, you being with me is the best gift I could ask for. I never thought I would be happy after Milah was killed, but these last few months with you have been the best few months of my very long life.” He pulls her closer to him with his Hook and kisses her softly. She wraps her arms around him and enjoys the kiss.

She was falling. Hard. It would be easy to say those three little words to Killian right now. She was sure she felt it for Killian. But she had never felt like this before, even with Neal. She had told Neal ‘I love you’ countless times, but now she wonders did she truly love him? Because the feeling she gets when she’s with Killian is incredible, she never felt this way with Neal. She loves seeing the way his face lights up when she talks to him, the way his blue eyes shine when he speaks about the Sea. She loves how much he cares about Henry, and how often he takes him out sailing-he didn’t have to do any of it, but he did.

He was such an ass when they first met. It feels like a lifetime ago when she tied Captain Hook to a tree and climbed a beanstalk with him. But he changed, she saw the way he changed over time. And slowly she realised that maybe he wasn’t a bad guy, they weren’t so different. Both abandoned, both heartbroken and both mending their broken hearts together, with each other.

“How about you come over to the Apartment tonight? My parents are out and Henry is babysitting Neal at Reginas. I’m not that great a cook but I can attempt grilled cheese.” She says smiling at Killian.

“Sounds wonderful love.”

Killian was happy.

So damn happy.

After Liam and Milah were gone, all that mattered was killing Rumnplestilskin, until he met a stubborn blonde who changed his life forever. He slowly started to see that being a villain wasn’t all it used to be, and that he could be the man he once was.

When Henry brought Emma to Storybrooke and told her she was the saviour who needed to break a curse, she never expected it would be true or lead her to her happy ending. A happy ending she also didn’t realise would include Captain Hook. Fate was a funny thing. But she was finally happy, and for once was excited for her future.

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “Trapped” Part 5

Almost one year ago, someone tried to kill The Joker in a speeding car and Y/N pushed him out of the way, getting hit instead. With a fractured skull and broken bones, she was out of business for 6 months; when she finally recovered, The Queen of Gotham wasn’t the same anymore. Trapped inside her own mind and exhibiting severe cognitive impairment, Y/N’s life switched upside down without any hope of ever returning to normal.

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4

4 Months Pregnant

“I need customized stickers that say Baby On Board for my purple Lamborghini and the other cars I drive,” The Joker growls at his own idea whilst sharing it with the person fulfilling his wacko trades: Franco Rossi, the leader of best underground supply chain in Gotham.

“When would you like them ready Mister J? After Y/N gives birth?”

“Nope! Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?...” Franco hesitantly inquiries about the sudden emergency since he can’t understand why The King of Gotham demands them so fast.

The Joker hates explaining yet certain people are obtuse thus they necessitate enlightenment.

“Y/N’s pregnant: when she gets in a car, the baby is also. Baby on board! Hello??” the father-to-be loses his temper.

Who can argue with The Joker’s logic? Nobody. It sort of makes sense anyway.

“Of course, Mister J. I’ll have them ready. If you drop by after 6pm, I’ll have your guns ready too.”

“Perfect!” the Joker hangs up among the ruckus coming from the office near the kitchen: sounds of shattered objects and yelling alert Richard aka Panda you’re at it again. He nonchalantly passes by in order to deliver the items to The Clown.  

“Your drinks Mister J,” he gives one cup with Starbucks caramel latte to his boss and the other is placed on the table. Why does your boyfriend require 2 identical containers? It won’t take long to solve the mystery.

“Are the lids glued?”

Strange question but there’s a purpose in it.

“Yes sir. How is she doing?”

“She’s hormonal: breaking things makes her feel better which reminds me we have to hoard porcelain objects for her to wreck. NO glass!”

“Sure, I’ll tell the crew,” Richard leaves the kitchen while texting Frost. “Hulk needs more to smash,” he types the code name they gave you in the last weeks although The King knows about it: J’s the one that came up with it.

“Hey Pumpkin,” you are greeted as soon as you pop up from the office. “How’d it go?” he scrolls down on his phone and takes a sip of hot liquid.

“Ugghh!” a frustrated Y/N swings the yellow teddy bear The Joker stole for her on their first date, hitting his hand in the process. The drink flies near the fridge and splatters on the floor with minimal damage: only a tiny puddle instead of a disaster, that’s why the lids are glued.

Safety measure for The Queen’s unpredictability.

J grabs his reserve cup of coffee, paying attention now hence he dodges your renewed attack and keeps his coffee intact.

That’s why his drinks have the lids glued, in case you catch him off guard the second time it will result in negligible destruction.

It happened before.

“I don’t think so Princess,” The Joker strong grip on the container calms you a bit because you won’t be able to win this round. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” you pout and sit in his lap.

“I bet the baby is,” the secret weapon is unleashed: J discovered such a gem by accident and it works like a charm. How can Y/N say “no” if the baby is involved? She can’t.

A plate filled with a bunch of your favorite breakfast food is placed in front of you and strangely enough you’re instantly hungry.

“Extra bacon,” he purrs. “Plus chocolate dip and honey mustard for your pickled cherries. I added peanut butter olives as a bonus.”

In your defense, you’ve been having weird cravings lately.

You place the toy on the chair nearby and start eating, ogling a Joker texting back and forth with his business partners. He chews the morsel you just offered and shivers: waffle dipped in clam juice is disgusting. Maybe he should look at the food you shove in his mouth.

“Gross,” J washes the terrible taste with coffee and gets a kiss for encouragement, yet he’s aware of the connotations. Another kiss confirms it.

Let’s put it this way: besides the hormonal episodes and food demands, The Queen has had a fresh type of craving recently - The Joker kind.

More than usually.

That’s why he has to clear it up.

“I’m flattered for being the center of attention; we gotta keep in mind that contrary to the popular belief, I don’t have unlimited stamina, Pumpkin.”

You nod in agreement and unbutton his pants, then unzip them also.

“Y/N, pay attention!” J insists since you don’t give a damn about his woes. “Think about it as a two way street: The Joker Street and I Want To Break Things Street. Are you with me so far?” he double checks.

Why is he yapping so much??! I guess you should make an effort to comprehend: he’s even doodling patterns on his phone to emphasize the speech.

“When you get hormonal, Princess, let’s try and walk on the I Want To Break Things Street instead of The Joker Street, hm? The Joker Street is sometimes closed for repairs until further announcement.”

OK, OK, this is a lecture. Something about a Joker Street, he seems upset he doesn’t have one…?... Right?...

If you were him, you would be pissed Gotham didn’t name a street in your honor when you’re so important for the town.

Another peck on his neck, then your lips go down his collar bone.

“You’re not paying attention, are you?” J mutters when it’s clear his shirt won’t remain on his body for too long.

“I am,” you defend yourself.

“Oh yeah? What did I say then?”

“Ummm…” you try to piece together words among estrogen taking over. “No Joker Street?...”

“Bingo, that’s it Princess! No Joker Street, correct! Choose the other street, yes?”

This time he kisses you, excited his idea was well received when in fact, both parties are referring to unrelated concepts.

“Wait,” J dodges your touch, “Richard is calling.”

Because he’s on the phone ignoring Y/N, she is ensuring a nice surprise for later; concentrating to the maximum to avoid misspelling, the following message is sent to Franco Rossi from her cell:

“Make a landmark sign that says Joker Street.”

The King’s conversation is prolonged more than anticipated until he discerns you’re not wiggling: you feel asleep, softly snoring on his shoulder and he definitely can’t afford to wake you up.

The doctors said your body is trying to cope with the pregnancy the best way it can: if you doze off at random hours it means you ran out of fuel and you should rest. After cheating death and surviving the accident, the future mother is at high risk of serious complications which is why each day could lead to unforeseen problems.

The Joker rises from the chair holding you in his arms and after a few steps he realizes it’s difficult to walk: thanks to his unbuttoned and unzipped pants, they keep sliding lower and lower. There’s no way he will make it upstairs so maybe the sofa in the living room is the best option. He almost trips thus he begins to drag his feet on the carpet, the pants at knee level now.

“I’m reduced to a piece of meat,” J grumbles, finally making it to the couch and placing Y/N on it so she can have her power nap.

*************

6:02pm

You accompanied The King to a meeting with Seraphim, the best hacker/strategist J uses: they’ve been plotting for a while concerning D.A. Kevin Winchester. The politician is becoming a huge pain in the butt for Gotham’s underworld and something must be done; either annihilation or blackmail, it truly doesn’t matter since he’s bad for business. Due to a total lack of interest in the subject, you are exploring the surroundings quite angry The Joker dragged you here.

Luckily there’s stuff to do.

Bam! you punch the fragile glass sculpture and it splinters into a million pieces on the lavish marble floor.

Seraphim jumps at the noise, immediately recognizing his beloved possession:

“That’s…,” he gulps, appalled. “That’s a Vitriol!”

Yup, the one and only Degas Vitriol, the latest sensation taking the art universe by storm.

“She’s hormonal,” J sneers. “She breaks shit!”

“That’s valued at 150,000 dollars!” the hacker breaths in much needed oxygen regarding the atrocity unfolding at his hideout.

“So??!!” your boyfriend sucks on his teeth, irritated. “Serves you right for buying that asshole’s artsy fartsy crap!”

The Joker actually has 4 Vitriol masterpieces at the mansion yet you were strictly forbidden to destroy them, alas he gave you the office for your rampages.

You continue your exploration as they talk about God knows what until you perceive an alarming detail: Seraphim is literally screaming having a gun pointed at J.

You sneak behind him then in a split second you strike the pistol out of his hand and your fist lands on his temple with such brutality it knocks him out unconscious.

“What the hell are you doing, Y/N???” The Clown hisses at your erratic behavior.

“Hm?”

“What are you doing??!!!” he repeats, annoyed.

“S-saving  you…,” you stutter, confused on why J is mad. “He was yelling and…mmm, had a gun,” you wince in pain because your knuckles hurt from the impact.

“The guy’s half deaf and sometimes he raises his voice without noticing, or did you forget??!! Now I have to wait until he comes to his senses and that’s a waste of my time, Y/N!!! Seraphim wasn’t threatening me, he was showing me his newest collectible!!! I suppose someone with half a brain can’t acknowledge the mess they’ve created!!!”

A lot of accusations thrown your way still… the last sentence brings tears in your eyes.

“I…” you bite your lower lip. “…I don’t have half of brain…”

“Wanna bet??” The Joker bites more instead of leveling with your logic: you though he was in danger and took action. If it was a real emergency, yes, you would have been the hero; it’s not and apparently he can’t appreciate your fast intervention in these circumstances.

“Y-you’re stupid…” you whisper, frustrated. “You don’t understand anything…”

Here it is -- the cataclysmic event of the century: someone called The Joker stupid. He’s beyond outraged with nothing better to utter besides a very childish:

“You’re stupid!”

Y/N turns around and stomps out of the house leaving a trail of destruction outside: she slaps the bottled water out of The Shark’s hand, kicks Panda’s shin and snatches Frost’s donut basically inhaling the sweet treat.

“I want to go h-home!!” you shout and enter the first vehicle you see, slamming the door so hard the window on the passenger side cracks.

“Jesus…” Jonny mumbles and being the sensible man that he is you are offered the whole box of pastries he purchased for his family. He can acquire more, but there’s no way in hell he wants to endure Y/N in the state she’s in.

Gotta keep Hulk calm somehow…

**************

3 Hours Afterwards

You sulk when The Joker strolls in the master bathroom frantically searching the cabinets.

“Did you see my shaver?” he asks.

“Hm?”

“Did you see my shaver?”

“I…I wouldn’t know. I only have half a brain,” the surprisingly eloquent phrase queues J his woman is holding a grudge for his earlier statement. Why wouldn’t she? He was a complete jerk.

At least you didn’t catch on to the obvious: The King of Gotham doesn’t own a shaver; hair just grows on his head.  

He glimpses at Y/N soaking in the bathtub with a kid’s book in her left hand and the right hand fingers sunk into a bowl filled with ice placed at the edge of the Jacuzzi. The Joker leans over and switches your book since it’s upside down.

You huff at the unwanted help and stare at the pictures expecting he’ll look for his shaver and disappear.

You’re not that fortunate today.

“Imagine my surprise when I drove the main alley and detected a sign that says The Joker Street,” he brings up the topic.

Franco Rossi was super-efficient …sadly you ordered the item before J ran his mouth at the hacker’s place, otherwise you wouldn’t care he wants a street with his name.

“You said no… no Joker Street,” you stammer. “Now you have one,” the bitter tone makes him roll his eyes: Y/N’s brain got what it could from his monologue, he should have known better than to make it complicated.

“Excellent…” The King starts rubbing your tummy, “… precisely what I was aiming for. I’m washing the baby, not you!” he underlines when you move farther from him.

You scrunch your face displeased but let him do it because it’s for the baby.

“I know what you’re doing,” Y/N gives him a cold gaze. “U-using the baby… I’m not stupid!”

Busted, The Joker thinks. The schemer in him won’t accept defeat though.

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Yes you did!”

“You said it first!!!” he reckons, antagonized. “Therefore two stupid people put together gotta make up for a smart one!!’

“I… I don’t wanna make out…” you frown at his suggestion.

The Joker sighs, deciding not to correct the trajectory of your judgement; it sure sounds like an opportunity.

“Why not?”

“I’m tired and…and I h-hate you,” your heavy eyelids close.

“Both viable reasons, even if I have to admit you striking Seraphim like that got me quite worked up. He’s no small fry! I had to wait for one hour for him to recover; you got a mean punch, woman! The more I reflect on it, the hornier I get. Which reminds me, Pumpkin: guess what?... … … I’m hormonal too.”

No answer, Pumpkin’s out.

“Of course nobody gives a damn if I’m hormonal!” he complaints while grabbing you from the bathtub. You cling to him for a few moments prior to drifting back into your dreams.

“Thanks for getting me all wet,” J snarls at the cruel reality of having his favorite Prada suit ruined.

“You…you’re welcome…” his Queen replies in her sleep, somehow her mind clutching to reality amidst pure relaxation.

This is what two hormonal individuals are reduced to: one’s dozing off, the other is suffering in silence, although being the proud owner of the tiniest road in Gotham compensates for the mishap.

It’s a two way street.

 Also read: Masterlist

You can also follow me on Ao3 and Wattpad under the same blog name: DiYunho. 

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Batman: The Animated Series Season 1 (4 of 10)

Carrying on our look at the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, we present a fourth round of episode reviews, this time starting with a two-parter that introduced one of Batman’s stranger foes to the series.

Episode 20: Feat of Clay (Part 1)

Plot (as given by me):

Lucius Fox of Wayne Enterprises is lured to a secret meeting with a man who claims to be Bruce Wayne, who wants evidence the company has gathered about businessman Roland Daggett trying to take over Wayne Enterprises through insider trading.  The meeting turns out to be a set-up, but Batman’s interference ensures Fox manages to live.  However, the men escape and the injured Fox identifies Wayne as being complicit in the set-up.

 In reality, the man who set Fox up is Matt Hagan, an actor who is forced to carry out errands for Daggett in order to ensure a supply of an experimental chemical compound called “Renuyu”.  The compound makes skin highly malleable, enabling Hagan or any other user to rearrange their features as they choose.  However, the compound is also highly addictive, and Hagan needs it to cover facial disfigurements following an accident he had years ago.  Daggett insists that his men, Raymond Bell and ‘Germs’, eliminate Hagan for his incompetence, relying on Hagan’s addition to draw him to them rather than try to find Hagan, who was a noted master of disguise even before using the compound.

 As predicted, Hagan breaks into Daggett Pharmaceuticals and is caught by Bell and Germs.  They expose him to an overdose of the compound and then leave him in his car, where the compound begins to alter Hagan.  Meanwhile, Batman has learned his alter ego of Bruce Wayne was impersonated for the attack on Fox, and has remembered Bell, who is distinguished by the radio headset he wears to monitor police radio frequencies.  Batman uses this to flush Bell out by pretending to be a police radio operator.  Cornering Bell with the Batwing, Batman interrogates him about the impersonation of Wayne.  Bell confirms Wayne was impersonated, but passes out before confirming the identity of the imposter.  The arrival of the police forces Batman to abandon his efforts with Bell.

 Later, Bruce sneaks into Fox’s room at the hospital, but Fox panics and alerts the police officers outside his room, resulting in Bruce’s arrest.  Meanwhile, Hagan’s friend and stand-in Teddy Lupus tracks Hagan to Daggett’s factory, where he finds the overdose has transformed Hagan into a clay-like monster. Seeing himself in the rear-view mirror of his car, Hagan roars in horror.

Review:

Apparently, there have been several villains who have taken the name of Clayface over the course of Batman’s history in the comics, of which four had already made appearances in comics by the time this series came round.  What the series does is combine the occupation of the original Clayface Basil Karlo, namely being an actor, with the name of the second Clayface Matt Hagan, and then throws in an original origin story for the character.  Well, for the character it’s original, but for the show as a whole it’s not very original.  As the DC Animated Universe wiki rightly points out, this two-part episode shares a lot of common plot points with the ‘Two-Face’ two-part episode. Even the structure is roughly similar in that part 1 is set-up for a transformation that the principal villain then seeks retribution for in part 2.

 However, Hagan isn’t as easy to empathise with and root for compared to Harvey Dent.  While Dent was a crusading crime-fighter who was normally a good guy, and who was also friends with Bruce Wayne, Hagan comes off as someone who was probably a bit of a jerk to begin with, and who would probably be working for a creep like Daggett even if the chemicals that ultimately transform him weren’t addictive.  In essence, Hagan’s arc is like one big warning about the dangers of getting too caught up in one’s looks too much.  That said, he is well-voiced by actor Ron Perlman (yes, I mean the first cinematic Hellboy and Blade II villain Ron Perlman).  Other notable actors who have guest roles across this two-parter are Ed Begley Jr. (too many credits to name, but guest appearances in the West Wing, CSI Miami and Star Trek: Voyager number among them), and the now-late Ed Asner voicing Roland Daggett (Asner being most notable in voice acting outside of this series for Carl in Disney & Pixar’s Up!).

 Overall, it’s a decent part 1 with some very good guest talent alongside the show’s regulars.  It just lacks a bit in originality, and for that it’s only able to score 8 out of 10.

Episode 21: Feat of Clay (Part 2)

Plot (as given by me):

In his trailer at the film studio, Hagan wallows in self-pity and despair as he recalls how after his accident, Daggett conned him into being a test subject for his experimental compound.  Walking past posters on his wall, Hagan’s face changes to mimic the posters without him being aware of it.  Teddy points this out, and Hagan realises he can now make himself look like anyone, even simulating clothing out of his body. However, doing this requires intense concentration, and when Teddy disturbs Hagan, the disfigured actor lashes out, realising his career cannot be salvaged.

 Meanwhile, Wayne is released on bail, enabling him to continue his investigation as Batman, and Daggett insists that Germs kill Fox, despite the fact that Fox is in hospital and Germs earned his nickname by being a germophobe.  Hagan also deduces Daggett will try to have Fox killed, and plans to kill the assassin so he can take their place, the better to then kill Daggett.  As a result, all three men end up at the hospital. Batman intercepts Germs and manages to corner him in a room where viral and bacterial cultures are being stored for analysis, and uses this to coax Germs into revealing it was Matt Hagan who impersonated Bruce Wayne during the original ambush on Fox.

 Before Germs can reveal how Hagan pulled off the deception, a police officer appears to apparently arrest Germs.  However, it swiftly turns out the office is Hagan in disguise; he abducts Germs and takes him to the roof, intent on throwing him to his death.  Batman pursues and saves Germs, and the dark knight is startled when he sees Hagan’s face change on reflex to try and mirror his own.  Hagan uses his shape-shifting powers to try and kill Batman, but the effort soon exhausts him and he is forced to flee.  Elsewhere, Hagan finalises his plans to kill Daggett, and knocks out Teddy when he tries to talk him out of it.

 Later, Roland Daggett appears on a talk show hosted by TV journalist Summer Gleeson to promote “Renuyu” to the public.  When Summer takes questions from the audience, an overweight woman in the audience storms the stage, grilling Daggett about the chemical’s side-effects and addictive properties.  The woman then transforms, revealing it is actually Hagan in disguise, and the audience flees in terror.  Hagan, now calling himself “Clayface”, attacks Daggett, but Batman intervenes.  A fight ensues between the two that moves from the stage to the control room, Batman subduing Daggett along the way.

 In the control room, Batman activates videos of Hagan’s films, causing him to shape-shift out of control as his body tries to emulate all the varying and conflicting characters at once.  The police arrive as Hagan’s out-of-control changing continues, and they see his face briefly become that of Bruce Wayne. Hagan then smashes the control consoles, electrocuting himself.  He laments that he never got a death scene this good when he was still an actor, and won’t be around to read the notices.  While Wayne is cleared of all wrong-doing, Batman experiments on a piece of Clayface left behind and realises electricity has no effect on it. Combined with the actor’s choice of words, Batman realises Hagan gave them all a fake death; his body at the police morgue turns out to be an empty shell, and elsewhere a disguised Clayface laughs at his seeming triumph.

Review:

As I noted with part 1, the whole Clayface intro two-part story is quite derivative in its plot structure, having so many parallels to the Two-Face intro episodes that to a casual glance, they could appear identical.  However, part 2 does compensate for this with more than just a great cast of guest voices like part 1 did.  In part 2, we see Clayface show off his powers, and that’s where this episode comes to really stand out.  Unlike some DC heroes, Batman faces a rogues’ gallery composed almost entirely of otherwise normal people who are either just insane human beings or some form of professional criminal.  As a result, he’s often challenged more by their insanity or something technical they’ve done.

 Clayface, on the other hand, opens our animated Batman up to facing a foe who presents a challenge because he has a physical super-power that the caper crusader has to contend with.  Metahumans aren’t the norm for Batman solo adventures, but it’s fun to see them because they serve as evidence for why someone like Batman ultimately ends up as a member of the Justice League.  It’s his ability to get through the initial clash, learn from it and be prepared the next time around that ensures Batman can win even against a super-powered adversary.  However, even with this we’re not quite up to top marks, but we’re close.  I’d give this episode 9 out of 10.

Episode 22: Joker’s Favour

Plot (as given by me):

Average Gothamite Charlie Collins is coming home from a bad day at work when he is cut off on the freeway by multiple drivers, including Batman and officers of the GCPD.  However, the one that compels Charlie to return the favour complete with a string of abuse turns out to be the Joker.  Horrified at his mistake, Charlie then tries to flee, but the clown prince of crime pursues him.  Charlie, in the heat of the moment, states he’ll do anything to make amends, and the Joker agrees, stating that at some future time, he’ll ask a favour of Charlie.

 Two years later, Commissioner Gordon is to be honoured with a testimonial, something that sits ill with the Joker, and he plans to crash the festivities.  Despite having two henchmen and a right-hand woman in the form of one Harley Quinn, Joker decides to call in the favour owed to him by Charlie Collins. Charlie has moved cities and changed names, but the Joker has managed to keep track of the man, and insists Charlie return to Gotham if he doesn’t want his wife and son hurt.  At Gordon’s testimonial, which is being held at the Gotham Peregrinators Club, Charlie’s favour for the Joker is open the door for Harley while she pushes a giant cake in.  However, Charlie decides to try and warn Batman, and uses a club exhibit to make an improvised bat-signal.

 Charlie performs his task as Harley brings the cake in, disguised as a uniform cop.  However, Charlie finds his hand is now glued to the handle, and the cake emits a gas that paralyses everyone not involved in the Joker’s scheme (the Joker’s men, Harley and Charlie all wear gas-masks while Joker springs up from inside the cake).  The Joker pins a bomb to Commissioner Gordon’s suit and leaves with Harley and his men, planning to kill Charlie along with the assembled officers. However, Batman arrives, having spotted the improvised bat-signal as he’d been leaving the club as Bruce Wayne. At Charlie’s warning, he uses his grapnel gun to shoot the bomb outside, which results in the destruction of the Joker’s getaway van, after which he frees Charlie from the door, telling him to stay with the recovering police officers while he tackles the Joker.

 Batman is quick to take down Joker’s henchmen and Harley while Joker gets outside.  There, he is confronted by Charlie, who in mad desperation threatens the Joker with one of his own bombs that was thrown clear of the van.  Joker pleads for Batman to save him, and the dark knight appears in time to apparently talk Charlie down.  However, Charlie soon tosses the device to the ground, where it turns out to be a gag bomb instead of a real one.  While an amused Batman takes the Joker into custody, Charlie looks forward to returning to his normal life.

Review:

This episode has quite a lot going for it. For starters, it’s another Joker episode, which are generally sure bets to be interesting once any Batman show knows what they’re doing with the character.  Second, it’s a Joker episode with a very interesting premise of putting an everyman kind of character in the middle of everything.  That alone helps the episode to stand out as something different, and that’s before we consider that the everyman character is being voiced by Ed Begley Jr.  In and of itself, that last point might not seem like much, but if you compare Charlie Collins to the character Begley was voicing in the ‘Feat of Clay’ two-part episode, it shows this chap has an impressive range for voice-acting.

 However, all of this is relative pre-amble to the fact that this is the episode that first featured the show’s major break-out original character of Harley Quinn.  From the simple act of episode writer Paul Dini creating Harley as a guest character for this episode, her character has taken Batman’s original medium of comics and all other Batman mediums by storm.  It’s hard to believe given the episode isn’t giving her a proper intro with origin story and all the rest, but luckily the show would later address that. However, I think that just goes to show how strong the character was, or possibly just how much Batman lore must have needed that character without maybe realising it.  Factoring all this in, I’d say this episode is another top scorer; 10 out of 10.

Episode 23: Vendetta

Plot (as given by me):

Convict “Spider” Conway is being transported from Stonegate to give evidence against crime lord Rupert Thorne, but the transport boat is blown up by a bomb mid-transport.  The officers on board spotted the bomb and got off in time, but Conway is missing and everyone begins to assume the worst.  When Batman finds a toothpick like those used by Detective Harvey Bullock at the Stonegate Penitentiary docks, and later learns Bullock was once suspected of taking bribes from Thorne, he assumes something even worse; that Bullock planted the bomb himself.

 Bullock is taken off the Thorne/Conway case because of this unsavoury history, while Batman goes to interrogate Thorne.  The crime lord claims he wasn’t involved and that Conway’s testimony won’t damage him at all.  This seems to confirm Batman’s theory that Bullock blew up the boat to prevent anything come to light about his own past with Thorne, but Commissioner Gordon is adamant Bullock is clean.  However, when someone dressed like Bullock abducts another criminal, Joey “The Snail” Martin, from his police cell, Bullock is arrested.

 Batman examines another piece of evidence found at the docks, a scale which looks reptilian but has human cellular structure. A chance phrase of Alfred’s combined with the scale gives Batman an idea.  He eventually discovers Joey and Spider have been hidden in a cave with an underwater access and confronts their abductor, who identifies himself as a former professional wrestler named Killer Croc.  Croc was apparently born part-crocodile, which gives him a massive strength advantage.  Despite this, Batman is able to tie Croc up long enough to capture Joey and Spider and leave.

 Back at the Batcave, Batman is able to trace Croc’s past; he became a pro-wrestler after a stint as a side-show attraction, then turned to crime when he came to Gotham.  Initially penny-ante, Croc was later arrested by Bullock and convicted based on the testimony of Spidey and Joey.  Realising this, Batman intercepts Croc when he tries to corner Bullock in the detective’s car, after Bullock has been released on bail.  Batman and Croc take their battle into the sewers, where Batman ultimately wins, bringing Croc back to the surface for Bullock to take in. Bullock soon returns to duty with all charges against him formally dropped.

Review:

Here we get a fairly simple, but nonetheless decent, intro episode for another of the metahuman monsters that occasionally get a spot in the Batman rogues’ gallery.  This time it’s Killer Croc, who has a fairly simple backstory and doesn’t require the kind of introductions we’ve seen for many of Batman’s other foes. The backstory for Croc is so simple, in fact, that it doesn’t lose anything from being worked into a Bullock frame-up plot that allows us to also see a major supporting character in Batman lore developed further.  My only criticism would be that Croc’s proper name of Waylon Jones from the comics isn’t used, and that right at the end he gets identified as ‘Killer Croc Morgan’ by the news reporter.  It might seem like a minor niggle to some, but between that and the frame-up seeming a bit advanced for the simplistic Croc, I give this episode just 8 out of 10.

Episode 24: Fear of Victory

Plot (as given by me):

Amidst reports of star athletes having panic attacks that cause them to lose, Dick Grayson’s college room-mate and American football player Brian Rogers is on the verge of being signed into the professional American football leagues.  As they discuss this, Brian receives a strange telegram wishing him luck, but also reminding him that only a fool knows no fear.  Later at a crucial game, Brian suffers a panic attack of his own, and later when Dick is out as Robin assisting Batman, he has a panic attack while scaling the side of a skyscraper to tackle two thieves.

 Investigating Dick’s college dorm, Batman discovers the telegram is coated in a substance that is blocked by their gloves. Performing an experiment back at the Batcave, Batman deduces that the chemical is activated by adrenalin, causing major panic during moments of major excitement such as high-pressure sporting contests.  The nature of the chemical clearly indicates the Scarecrow, but Robin contends that Scarecrow is supposed to be locked up at Arkham Asylum.  A visit there swiftly reveals, however, that Scarecrow has escaped and somehow terrorised an orderly into keeping the escape a secret.

 Elsewhere, a man identifying himself only as ‘Lucky’ collects another big win from Leon the Bookie, who sends his enforcer after the man to find out how he is managing to win so many bets.  Lucky turns out to be the Scarecrow, and uses another drugged telegram to cow the enforcer into submission.  Batman explains to Commissioner Gordon that in order to finance his fear experiments, Scarecrow is drugging top athletes and then betting against them or their teams, depending on the sport in question.  That knight, Gotham’s professional American football team the Gotham Knights have a game that Scarecrow is likely to target, so Batman goes to intervene, Robin going along despite not yet having recovered from the fear chemical himself.

 At the game, Robin spots the disguised Scarecrow entering and follows, quickly deducing that this time, Scarecrow has tampered with a player’s helmet rather than going for the telegram trick again. Watching the game from the lighting scaffold in the stadium roof, Scarecrow is puzzled as the targeted player doesn’t have a panic attack, and is then surprised when Batman confronts him. Scarecrow threatens to drop a vial of fear toxin on the crowd if Batman doesn’t back off, but then opts to drop it to keep Batman too busy to follow him.  However, the vial lands on a lower platform instead.

 A scuffle ensues that causes the vial to fall towards the crowd, but Robin arrives in time to swing out and catch the vial, overcoming his panic attacks and saving the day.  He also reveals he was the one who swapped out the dosed helmet for a safe one.  Scarecrow is swiftly returned to Arkham and Brian Rodgers is signed up to play professional American football.

Review:

Quick bit of house-keeping; as a Brit, I cannot stand how Americans call actual football ‘soccer’ and their version of football, well, football.  After all, football is supposed to be played, as the name implies, with one’s feet.  Why the Americans apply this name to their version when they almost never use their feet to move the ball is just silly to me. Also, given the shape of the ball, I’d say what they’re really playing is rugby, albeit with a better set-up in terms of ensuring player protection and, hopefully, no stupid rules prohibiting passes in the direction players are meant to run.  So, for anyone wondering why I’ve insisted on using the term ‘American football’ all through the plot outline above, that’s why.

 So, that having now been explained, let’s consider the episode proper.  While this was the first episode to be aired featuring Robin, it’s the second from a production stand-point, and in all honesty it’s one episode that might have been better going ahead of the earlier Robin episode ‘Christmas with the Joker’.  The fact that Dick is at college, and thus less available to act as Robin, is more directly shown here, so really this should have been made as well as aired first, then the Christmas episode done later on both counts.  Robin’s arc in the story about overcoming fears is a decent, albeit highly cliché one that at times slightly undercuts the episode’s quality.

 To some degree, the return of Scarecrow with a more terrifying appearance helps compensate for this, but then also undercutting the episode is the obviousness that the Scarecrow is the culprit.  Between the episode title (and title card), not to mention the series of fear-related incidents with top athletes, it’s somewhat painful having to wait for Batman to make the connection the audience made five minutes earlier at least.  It’s like watching any episode of Columbo, where the audience gets to see what actually happened first and then has to wait ages for the detective to work it out.

 That way of presenting mysteries is almost as daft as calling a sport football if it’s not going to involve primarily foot-on-ball contact.  The audience should always be in sync with or behind the detective, and if you get there ahead of them, it should be from your own deduction, not because the book, TV episode or film spoils the solution for you while making the detective work for it.  Overall, this isn’t the best episode of the series by any means, and I give it just 5 out of 10.

Episode 25: The Clock King

Plot (as given by me):

Hamilton Hill, the future Mayor of Gotham, catches a subway to work at his law firm, and finds himself sitting opposite businessman and efficiency expert Temple Fugate, who is preparing for a hearing regarding a judgement of $20 million dollars against his company.  Hill warns Fugate that he needs to unwind a bit before the court hearing or the judge may rule against him by misreading his tension as guilt. Taking Hill’s advice, Fugate takes his coffee break 15 minutes later than normal and goes to the park instead of staying in the office.  This leads to mishaps that result in him appearing late and dishevelled, prompting the judge to rule summarily against Fugate, causing the demise of his business.

 Seven years later, Hill is now mayor of Gotham and in the process of starting a re-election campaign.  On his way to a fund-raiser for the campaign, Hill is detained when traffic lights at an intersection are tampered with, and at the same time a poster mocking Hill is unveiled on the side of a building.  Bruce Wayne is also caught in the traffic mishap, and spies the culprit on a nearby rooftop. He attempts to interfere as Batman, but the culprit (Fugate now lightly disguised as the timing-obsessed Clock King) manages to escape through his expert use of timing.

 Batman’s investigations of the traffic incident soon give him Fugate’s name, and when a bank is the subject of a targeted black-out to disable its time locks, the dark knight deduces this to also be Fugate’s work. At the bank’s vault, Batman is trapped inside by Fugate, who reveals via audio recording that he has left a high-speed vacuum pump to drain the vault’s air.  The pump will take less time than Batman’s cutting torch, and it’s rigged with a vibration-sensitive explosive to prevent Batman tampering with it.  However, Batman is able to break open the audio cassette and use the magnetic ribbon to rig up a pulley system; using this, he moves the pump to the vault door and then sets it off by hitting it with a batarang.

 The bank vault, however, was ultimately successful in that while Batman is getting free, Fugate sabotages the opening of a Gotham subway station by making two subway trains crash at the station.  Only minor injuries are reported, but in the confusion the mayor has gone missing.  Batman, hearing of this and recalling Fugate having a lot of plans of a clock tower, swiftly realises Fugate has kidnapped Hill and taken him to the tower.

 At the clock tower, Fugate has tied Hill to the clock hands, which will crush Hill at 3:15; the time Hill suggested Fugate take his coffee break at seven years earlier.  As Hill’s law firm represented the plaintiffs in the case against Fugate, the timing-obsessed criminal has become convinced Hill’s advice was deliberate sabotage, and thus he various crimes throughout the day have been about exacting revenge on Hill. Batman arrives and engages Fugate in combat inside the workings of the giant clock, until Fugate’s clock-hand sword jams the gears, causing a catastrophic collapse.  Batman and Hill escape, and while there is no sign of Fugate in the aftermath, Batman believes that a man with Fugate’s use of timing could easily have escaped as well.

Review:

While the main antagonist of this episode shares his codename and use of timing with a DC Comics villain that was mainly a foe of Green Arrow, this show puts a different person behind the name and modus operandi, complete with a different origin story.  It’s a decent story, and one that certainly breaks a major convention of the series by having Batman operate in the daytime instead of being a strictly night-time crime fighter.  However, that sort of change is good because it adds somewhat to the variety of the show while also taking the main character out of his comfort zone a bit. On a personal note, I also enjoy this episode because what happens to Fugate illustrates why if you’re someone who is worried about being somewhere on time, you should never listen to any advice that might put you behind schedule.

 Hill might think what he’s suggesting will help Fugate, but it’s clear he’s not really engaged with Fugate and doesn’t understand the man.  Anyone who is this good with timing clearly needs everything to run like, well, clockwork in order to be relaxed.  I know because I’m often the same way and can’t stand the idea of being late to anything even where it might be the social norm.  If being late is going to cause someone anxiety, don’t try to suggest that they do anything that’s going to risk making them late.  Don’t tell them to have their break at another time or to get out of their routine; let them stay in their routine because odds are they need that routine just to keep calm.

 As much as Fugate goes overboard on the revenge, Hill deserves the opening salvo of the traffic incident and poster graffiti, and so does anyone who tries to advise others on how to calm down without knowing them.  Also, changes in routine and getting outside won’t help if the source of anxiety still exists.  Anxiety, like every problem in existence, has only solution; deal with the problem at its source.  Got an illness?  Go for whatever treatment wipes it out or lets your immune system do so.  Don’t like the current government?  Vote to change who runs it and get everyone you can to vote the same way?  Want to stop discrimination of any kind?  Fight every kind actively, aggressively and never, ever just say ‘I’m not that kind of bigot’ and then do nothing else.  Problems are only ever solved by action, not evasion.

 So overall, this is a good episode with an interesting premise and a story that highlights the folly of giving well-meant advice if you don’t really know the person you’re advising.  It’s not one of the highlights of the series, but I’d be hard-pressed to consider it a flop of any kind.  I’d say about 8 out of 10 for this one.

Episode 26: Appointment in Crime Alley

Plot (as given by me):

Roland Daggett wants to buy up and redevelop Gotham’s Park Row, a formerly nice area of the city that has now become a slum so infested with crime that it is better known as Crime Alley.  However, most of the residents of the area cannot afford to live anywhere else, so they are resisting Daggett’s plans.  To that end, Daggett hires an arsonist known as Nitro to destroy the slum and make it look like a faulty gas main ruptured.  Daggett asks that the explosion occur that evening at 9pm, which is when Daggett will be otherwise occupied giving his speech to the Gotham Better Business Council.

 Bruce Wayne deduces Daggett is up to something as he watches news commentary on the Park Row situation, but he has his own appointment to keep in the area an hour prior to Daggett’s deadline, one he has apparently never failed to make.  Bruce heads to the area as Batman, but is delayed when a girl comes running out of an apartment building screaming for help.  Batman enters the apartment to find three crooks trying to terrorise the girl’s mother out of the place.  The dark knight swiftly defeats the crooks and learns they’ve been strong-arming everyone in Crime Alley to leave, suggesting they may be working for Daggett.

 Meanwhile, Crime Alley resident and physician Dr Leslie Thompkins realises Batman is running late and sets out to look for him, insisting to her friend Maggie that she’ll be alright, having lived in the area for 30 years.  However, Leslie is abducted and tied up by Nitro and Daggett’s henchman Crocker when she discovers them rigging explosives in a condemned building.  When Batman learns Leslie has gone out in search of him after he was delayed, he begins to search for her.  He is then delayed when a desperate Crime Alley resident holds a clerk from Daggett Industries hostage for serving him eviction papers.  Batman manages to diffuse the situation and resumes his search for Leslie.

 A check of Leslie’s apartment reveals nothing, apart from a scrapbook that explains the nature of her relationship to Batman; Crime Alley was where Bruce’s parents were shot and killed, and Leslie was there to comfort the grieving Bruce, being a colleague of Bruce’s father as well as a local resident.  Seeing a homeless man staring through the window, Batman confronts him and learns of Leslie’s abduction.  He is delayed getting to her by having to stop an out-of-control tram trolley, which forces him to abandon the Batmobile and finish his journey on foot.

 Finding Crocker and Nitro in the midst of completing their work, Batman locks them inside their own van and diffuses the bombs Leslie is tied up next to.  Leslie urges Batman to forget her and get everyone out of a nearby hotel that has become a sanctuary for many people with nowhere else to live.  As Daggett gives his speech, sections of Crime Alley explode, but when Daggett later appears on the scene, it turns out all the residents and most of the buildings are still ok.  Only a few condemned buildings are taken out by the blasts, and Daggett’s men are under arrest.  However, Daggett denies any involvement and pins the blame on the neighbourhood’s high crime rate.

 As Daggett leaves, Leslie urges Batman to let it go, and the pair walk away to keep their appointment, each laying a rose at the place where Bruce’s parents were murdered years before.

Review:

When it comes to adapting Batman’s supporting cast from the comics, there are a few characters who get over-looked in most versions, and Dr Leslie Thompkins is a major oversight in most incarnations. While Alfred’s place as Batman’s butler and Bruce Wayne’s surrogate father figure is generally ensured in every iteration of the character, the surrogate mother role played by Leslie is less featured.  The fact that this series actually bothered to include her at all, and does so with such accuracy to the source material, is another example of why this show remains so iconic and definitive in terms of Batman adaptations.

 Of course, the key to making this work is two-fold.  First, the episode is apparently based on a specific comic-book story, which wasn’t something this series or later DC animated universe productions did very often. Second, they had Diana Muldaur, better known to Trek audiences as Dr Kate Polaski from season two of Star Trek: TNG, voicing Leslie, and while I didn’t generally care for her TNG character, she brings the right warmth and kindliness to her role in this episode. We also get Ed Asner back as Roland Daggett, which helps to ensure Rupert Thorne isn’t the only animated series original criminal that’s getting repeat appearances.  It also gives the episode a suitably notable antagonist to keep it interesting.  Overall, I’m inclined to put this one in the top-scorers club for this series; 10 out of 10.

[knking]

Memory 16 : The King’s Secret

Part 3/6

Written by TK, Illustrated by me

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

The injury was nothing noteworthy, really. Even a smidgeon of the flower’s potential was sufficient for a speedy and painless recovery, but that was besides the point. He couldn’t reveal his secret to Toriel, and discussing the matters at hand within the castle seemed too risky. The one place where they wouldn’t be looking for them would be their hideout around the garbage. After all, what kind of King would hang around junk with two weirdo bears?

“... So that’s it then. I will be King now, he’s no fucking use!” Ömen blurted, pacing around angrily around Asgore. “What kind of chance does he have if he can’t even pinch his attacker?”

“It’s not like that! I can still be King! I-I can defend myself!” Asgore paced around Ömen as well.

“Oh yeah, How? Are you gonna ask them politely to stop, and start giving out hugs?”

The only one not pacing around at that moment was Shaa, who seemed content to lay on a dirty mattress between the two restless monsters, indifferent to their bickering, but attentive nonetheless. It was his old mattress. It was in pretty bad shape, but it’d served him well for quite some time in the past. It was also the one thing in that room that didn’t stink of Ömen.

“Alright, look. If I’m King, I’ll still let you call the shots alright? You and Toriel can keep your room, and do all that other cute shit you guys do yeah? So? What do you say?”

“I can’t! They’d come after you instead of me! They’d lose trust in all of us! They’d… They’d wonder what happened for such a weird decision to take place! Rumors… They… They’ll spread rumors and they’ll all know! They-”

“What does it matter? I’ll kick all their asses!”

“You could get hurt, brother!” Asgore begged.

“NO! YOU could get hurt! I dedicated my whole life from the moment you freed us to make damn sure NOTHING would ever happen to you! Up there, down here, everywhere! I made a promise, that I intend to fucking keep!” Ömen had ceased pacing and now stood face-to-face inches away from the horned monster, as they both so affectionately traded spittle... and glares.

“I am not a child, I can take care of myself! I’m not King for no reason, I nearly killed you back at the Savannah!”

“And look at you now! You couldn’t even hurt a fly if you wanted to!”

“Why did you do it?” once more, the calm mediator stepped in to make sure things did not heat up too dramatically. Shaa stood up on his filthy, ragged mattress he called “his bed”. They both turned their heads towards him, but his gaze was elsewhere. Sometimes it was hard to tell what went on inside the polar bear’s own head, when his gaze was simply a deep homogenous blue.

“Can you stop doing that?” Ömen scoffed at his other half

“Only after you stop yelling.” Shaa bit back.

Ömen flared his noses in a disgruntled snort.

“...Ugh. Fine, whatever.” the greater half scoffed once more, arms crossed and facing away from his two siblings.

“Well then, why did you do it Asgore?”

“I… I don’t think I... “ he struggled to garner the strength to find the words appropriate to his feelings. Ironically, he found he was still capable of fighting himself. Not physically, but with his own thoughts, his own feelings. Incapable of scarring the flesh of others, he now turned to scarring his own mind. Mental scars can’t be healed by a fleur saignante.

“Well?” Shaa probed.

“I was so… Afraid. Afraid of hurting you guys again… Of hurting Toriel, or Sofia… Honoré. That night at the lions’ home, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for it. I’d lost control but… I could still see and hear. I saw what I did to you, to Toriel…” He’d now sat down in front of his thin white familiar. Arms resting at the knees and gazing down. Despite his best efforts and flowing golden mane, he did still resemble a child, even if unintentionally. In the end, he’d never truly experienced the golden years of his youth - that sacred bliss of innocence - having spent most of it on the run or in pain. Now that the cards had adjusted themselves into a neat house, that spark of naiveté flared within him, becoming a kindle.

“...that’s how I remembered your tattoos, your power, Shaa. For so long I’d wished for peace, I’d dreamed of home. I saw my true power that night with the lions, but it was pure violence... I wondered if I could only use that power to make dreams come true… So I focused on my dream of… Harmony. I pictured before me what those buttons you talked about would’ve looked like and… They just appeared… So I destroyed it, I destroyed my fight… Button.”

Both the bears simply listened unquestioning to his confession, his supplication for understanding, however, both still had difficulty in abstracting from what Asgore’d said. Perhaps it made sense that when describing the destruction of something as otherworldly and intangible as “your fight button”, the only person in the room to fully grasp it is the speaker. Ömen rose an eyebrow in incredulity, whilst Shaa merely pondered the consequential intricacies of such an act by his brother. It did not take long for him to reach his verdict.

“Perhaps, it IS best if Ömen becomes King.” He pronounced.

“Finally someone listens!” he laughed in satisfaction, slapping his stomach. “Alright, let’s go tell the others.”

“Wait! No, this can’t be the only way!” he promptly jumped back on his feet, placing himself between Ömen and the exit of their hideout. “Listen to me, I can do it, just listen!”

The grizzly had enough, his patience had been tried sufficiently. First, it was the walks, then it was the taunting, then the “button” thing. Now he still needs to listen to this? No, he’d had enough of it. He grabbed Asgore by his shoulders, and pressed his muzzle against his, a streak of seriousness finally washing over him

“No. Leave this to me. I must protect you.” he growled.

“What about our fight just ten minutes ago? What if I… Just dodged all the attackers, what if I-” he could not get his point across without being cut off by his large teddy of a brother.

“Do you think dodging will solve all your problems? DO YOU THINK I DIDN’T TRY THAT ALREADY?! IN THE ARENA?! IF I HAD STUCK TO THAT, SHAA WOULD BE DEAD AND SO WOULD YOU!!! I MUST PROTECT YOU, I MUST PROTECT YOU SHA-” his berating quickly turned into an incoherent rambling, so, the serene voice intruded again.

“That’s enough Ömen. It’s not your fault.”

The grip around Asgore was now a grapple more like, and small beads of tears had started to appear on the bear’s eyes before he finally let go and stumbled back, before sitting down on the mattress besides his brother. Shaa continued

“But the point still stands, I do not see how you would be able to defend yourself or those around you with your ability to fight removed entirely from your essence.”  

“That’s what I was trying to tell Ömen - what if I don’t need to fight to defeat my opponents? What if I became so quick and dexterous they could not even place a finger on me? You saw my fight with Ömen! He was nearly out of breath by the time he smashed his face on your forcefield!” Asgore replied.

“You can’t.” the grizzly calmly stated, submerged in his process of calming down. “You don’t have the reflexes and swiftness to achieve that kind of perfection. That’s the stuff of machines, and you’re simply a monster.”

“I’m not giving up that easily!” Asgore stomped. Fists clenched. Though now clenching fists meant very little since, well, you’ve read far enough into the story to get it.

“What if you trained him to be a machine, brother?” Shaa proposed to his greater half.

“What ?”

“He’s no machine, but you are the Royal Engineer. If there is someone with mastery and knowledge of mechanics it’s you. What if instead of crafting a machine with nuts and bolts, you crafted a machine out of soul and flesh… That is, what if you could turn Asgore in an evasion machine. You’re also an expert brawler, those two skills could complement one another and help him.” Shaa explained.

“Well… I won’t say it is impossible because… I mean Asgore achieved the “impossible” already with his button shit, so… It’s not impossible, but it won’t be fucking easy.” 

“I don’t need it to be easy.” Asgore defied him “I can do it.”

The air of the hideout grew still, the polar bear sensed that fiery glow of the boss monster’s soul in the pitch black of the surrounding ether. The grizzly could see the shimmer of the amber and azure in his brother’s eyes. Asgore might have been foolish, naive and somewhat ill-directed at times, but if there was one quality he undoubtedly possessed, it was determination.

“Then let’s go.” Ömen stood up.

PARTS : [1] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6]

[INDEX]

[crimsoncityhq]

THE ROARING 20s 

PART I 

Travel back to the 1920s for this massive Prohibition era-themed New Years party, set at Chicago’s very own City Hall. The Chicago skyline serves as the decadent celebration’s backdrop, featuring live DJ sets, jazz, burlesque dancers, and custom cocktails. Expect food, dancing, and large scale art installations. A state of the art light show will be projected onto the side of City Hall and will be accompanied by a stunning pyrotechnic display.

No matter the occasion, parties thrown by the Washington family promise a good time—and a glittering gala to welcome in 2020 sounds like it’ll be the best time. The Washingtons ring in the new year with optimism. If the streets of the city have been painted crimson by the tumultuous gang relations, the mayor and his family are determined to convince Chicago’s citizens that it doesn’t have to be this way. A new year, a new Chicago. Strategically set in neutral territory on the evening of January 4th, this party welcomes all of the city to attend.

You’re free to start plotting & crafting your character’s attire now. Posting aesthetics or outfits for the party should be under crimson.event.

You can start posting starters/threads tomorrow, January 4th 2020, 3pm PST!  The event will run until January 8th.

(plot slots can be found below the cut ! )

PLOT SLOT RULES:

In order to keep things fair, we’re going to allow one character per plot slot right now. If there are any leftovers, we’ll let members know when they can sign up for seconds.

You’ll notice that some of these plots are public, so feel free to have your character react to them/ notice them even if they aren’t happening directly to your character. However, if something feels like it happened privately to another character, please check in with their Mun to see if it’s okay for your character to know.

To be clear: these are not the only things that happen to your character during this plot drop and you are more than welcome to cook up your own trouble. (If you want to get into some real shenanigans and have an idea, hit us admins up and we’ll find a way to make it work!)

To sign up for a plot slot message the main! You can start doing that as soon as right now!

FINNIGAN O’SHEA arrives at the New Year Party already plastered and mistakes CHARACTER B for their date.

INGRID VASILE & CHARACTER D are holed up in the janitor’s closet doing god knows what after accepting pills from a stranger.

SERENITY MICHAELS & ELLIOT HARPETH get lost in the City Hall rooftop garden. None of them bother to check the rooftop door and assume they are locked up on the roof until CHARACTER G opens it to find them.

JAVIER LEON notices people they’ve never seen before. A group of them actually, and is conflicted if they should let security know. Instead they get distracted when NORAH HEMMINGS pulls them onto the dance floor.

CHARACTER J throws a molotov cocktail aiming for the holographic balloon wall. Instead, they catch CASIMIR ‘CASH’ WOLFF‘s leg on fire.

RAEJEANNE JOLLEY  shows up dateless but ends up matching with BOONE WALSH

MICAH RANSONE smuggles in what they think is their own food in a cooler. However, they open it instead it full of firearms. DANIEL FAUST meets with JUNO SONG to trade weapons, and instead opens a cooler with random appetizer dishes. Those fried mozzarella sticks aren’t going to save that bullet hole, buddy.

BREE REEVES drunkenly confesses their gang affiliation to SEAN O’SHEA. SEAN O’SHEA gets separated from BREE REEVES but reunites when they try to leave the building.

SAM O’SHEA & BARNABY  EATON thought it would be a good idea to light firecrackers...inside the city hall. CHARACTER U ( gang affiliate) mistakes it for gunfire and signals affiliated group to take out their weapons. REMINGTON MOON is injured by firecrackers and deaf as fuck.

EVA CLARKE notices Matty Faust at the party and tries to make a grab for him. PHILLIP DAPHNE tries to fight them away. EVA CLARKE is successful and takes Matty to Oliver Faust.

CHARACTER Y starts to serenade the entire New Years Party by singing along to London Bridge. They don’t realize that ZAHARA WENTWORTH is really screaming “Oh Shit!” because they just stumbled onto someone being crucified.

CHARACTER A1 & CHARACTER B1 are victims of a mass confetti bomb that erupts way before it was supposed to courtesy of EFFIE FAUST.

ALASTAIR TULACH vomits outside in the alleyway after too much to drink. They are also the only witness to seeing the security guards outside get neutralized.

FRANCESCA WEIZMANN is tasked with trying to sneak into the mayor’s office. Whether it is part of the plan or by pure accident CHARACTER F1 provides a distraction for them. They are able to extra ITEM OF THE ADMIN CHOICE from the mayor’s desk.

BAXTER WOODLEY & CHARACTER H1 get lost in the hallways of city hall. Through all their drunken stumbling, they are unable to find their way back until the screams of horror lead them to where they need to be.

CHARACTER I1 is delivered a mysterious package that has the name NAME OF FC. Before they are able to look over the contents, CHARACTER J1 smacks it out of their hands.

DARCY FAUST discovers a lost Great Dane with the tag ‘BOWIE’ on it covered in blood. They decide to KEEP BOWIE.

DANTE MORALES takes a champagne glass with an engagement ring at the bottom of the glass. They just so happen to be standing by CHARACTER M1 that was going to propose.

LORENZO CAVALLI & RAVEN VASILE gets suckered into watching after the kids at the party. Stop to sit for one second, and somehow get handed multiple children by partygoers.

POPPY LEVENBERG is joined by RICHIE O’SHEA to watch the firework display outside of the party. They find themselves unable to get back into the venue by normal means.

MIKHAIL MOROSOV finds ZELDA BLACK’s burner phone. Blackmail material.

CHARACTER T1 puts on a RAT costume trying to be clever with the Chinese Zodiac. However, they get stuck inside the rat costume. They are stuck in the outfit for the rest of the party. CHARACTER XX tries to help them out but is unsuccessful.

BIRDIE MENDOZA drunkenly picks a bouquet of flowers from the rooftop garden and gives it to DAHLIA CAVALLI.

SAMANTHA REDFORD accidentally gets handcuffed to ELI VOGEL thinking they handcuffs are cheap party favors.

CHRISTOPHER FAUST & CHARACTER A2 pause the festivities to enthrall the audience in a brutal fist fight. Neither wins, but both leave with minor injuries.

AMELIA O’SHEA overhears a classified conversation courtesy of a loose-lipped Vasile. AMELIA O’SHEA warns AUDREA DE GUINNESS & THEODORE ‘TEDDY’ COHEN to leave the building before all hell breaks loose. They’re too late as the Vasiles call the room’s attention.

[overwatchladieslover]

The Moon Circus chapter one: La fille du soleil

She was tired. Undeniably tired. Under her eyes were bags larger than those she had packed when leaving Switzerland, in her hand, a paper cup of lukewarm coffee. Her hand had cramps from holding her pen for so long.

“Ziegler, we need you at the drive-through!” Yelled her boss in her shitty earpiece, which matched her equally shitty fast-food uniform. She nodded, running over to her post. “Good evening! Have you made a choice yet?” She asked, trying her best to sound welcoming and happy. Her French was perfect, from the accent to the pronunciation. Perks of being Swiss.

Even if she had barely slept in three days, even if she got the shakes from her caffeine high. She had just gotten back from her college, where she was studying the medical arts, she barely had the time to trade her blouse and skirt for an orange and bright yellow uniform, she was already getting yelled at by five different persons. Angela Ziegler kept her voice even and joyful for the rest of the evening.

“Good evening! Have you made choice yet?” Her throat was dry, she was tired, and her voice slightly raspy, yet her interlocutor did not seem to mind in the slightest. Excited babbles of children could be heard, chanting ‘circus’ with enough energy to bring a melancholic smile to Angela’s lips. She remembered, when her little world was covered in snow, as her parents, holding her hands, stood by her sides, leading her to the circus. She fondly recalled the feel of her mother’s hand against her gloved one, or how her father laughed when he gave her piggyback rides.

She was brought back to the moment by her colleague, Hana, who looked at her with compassion. Decembers always were trying times for Angela since her parents had passed away. Sighing sadly, she resumed working, trying to keep herself focused.

Her service had finally ended, after dragging out slowly like a dying snail trying to reach its final destination. She simply could not wait to take a shower and pass out on her couch with some silly TV show playing in the background. On her way out, she waved goodbye at Hana, who was in charge of the night shifts. It was pretty cold outside, but Angela had had worse. Plus, she welcomed the freezing breeze like an old friend, as it seemed to dance with her blond hair. Angela Ziegler liked the calm, she checked her phone, it was almost midnight. She hurried back to her apartment. If she liked the Lyon nights, she certainly was much less fond of the dangerous back alleys.

She opened the door to her small lair. It was nothing fancy, but given the fact that she was living in the third arrondissement, right next to the docks, she was lucky. It had a living room with a kitchenette, a decently sized sofa who could serve as a bed in case Lena got in trouble with her girlfriend, Emily. Angela’s room was small, but efficient. A small bed, a bedside table drowning in books, notes, and a glass of water that had been sitting there for way too long to be drinkable. There also was a small desk, equally messy, with a small plant, which she lovingly named Freud, for she loved to pour water on little green Freud, chanting ‘drown, drown’. She let her bag fall to the ground, as she kicked her shoes off, jumping on the sofa, turning on TV, as she stared at the ceiling. Lord, was she tired.

She eyed the pack of cigarettes on her table. Lena gave them to her, as a ‘thank you’ for letting her stay over a week. Angela was not a smoker, not a regular one, but she could use something to take the edge off, and the smell of fast food oozing from her made her too nauseas to drink any of the cheap liquor she kept stashed in her cupboard. Grabbing a cigarette, she opened her window, pulling a lighter from the empty ashtray sitting on the windowsill. As she was smoking, her mind wandering, paying no attention to the political debate in the background, a blaring noise echoed through the street, she almost dropped her cigarette.

“What is that?” She muttered, leaning over the railing to see what was going on. “Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! Le Cirque D’Andromède is in town! Head over to Place Bellecour, and witness the impossible! Under the big top, you shall find us! Our first representation is going to be public, and completely free!” Enthusiastically spoke man in a megaphone. He was standing atop a car, which was blaring an obnoxiously loud circus music. He waved a top hat around.

Angela chuckled, he had cliché long moustache, a white cane and a black tailcoat, complimenting his pristine white shirt. The med school student checked her phone. Lena could definitely use something fun to do tonight. She called her, the brit answered almost right away. “What’d’ya need, Angie?” Asked Lena, upbeat as ever. “There’s a circus in town, first night sounds free. Want to check it out ? Bellecour isn’t that far from your place, is it?” Angela was already stripping for her shower, holding her phone with one hand, letting the cigarette fall down. “Please, I live in Bronc, that’s right next to the Jean Masset train station. I’ll be over in a second, meet me there!” Chirped Lena cheerfully. “I’ll take a quick shower and I’ll meet you at the station. Bring popcorn!” “Will do!” Angela hung up, before getting in her shower. She felt all the stress of the day wash off pleasantly. Sure, she was still tense, but she got used to this weight on her shoulders a long time ago. As soon as she was out of the shower, she tried to figure out what she was going to wear. Was it going to be casual, or classy? She had like, one good dress, and that was it. Her paycheck didn’t really cover much over the essentials.

She ultimately decided that she was too lazy to dress up, plus Lena had seen her at her worst caffeine-fueled extravaganza at 4 AM, trying to turn a semester of slacking around. She opted for dark jeans, a blue top which really brought out her eyes, and some light mascara and eyeshadow, just to pretend she actually made an effort. TV: turned off. Purse: Grabbed. Makeup: On. Ready to roll.

The streets were pretty calm for the 3rd district, which was known to house some of the city’s poorest students and people who didn’t have enough money to move to the suburbs. Still, it was a nice place. She lived Rue De Marseille, where shops almost never closed, except during Ramadan, where everything was quiet during the day, but so lively during the night ! Children playing soccer in the dead of night, under their mothers’ and the moon’s supervision. Teens smoking on the docks, carving their names in every available surface, or graffitiing the walls. Lena was a pro at that. Her nickname, ‘Tracer’, was almost everywhere in the borough, to her utmost pride. The train station was her favourite. The brit liked to go on trains, especially when she had no idea where they were headed, and just leave. Emily hated that, she once had to get Lena back from Valence, the brit still had not lived that one down.

Angela ran up the stairs to Jean Macé, where Lena was laying on a bench, watching something on her phone, kicking her crocs-clad feet in the air. “Hi there!” “’Sup Angie!” The brit greeted her with a hug. “When’s the train getting here?” Asked the blonde, sitting on the bench, as her friend let her feet lay on her lap. “Shouldn’t be too long now, I s’pose.” Lena looked as tired and dead inside as Angela, she too had to work a part time job, but it was far less classic than Angela’s. “How are things?” Miss Ziegler knew that Lena did not exactly enjoy bringing her adventures as a ‘criminal’ (after all, poor Lena Oxton wouldn’t hurt a fly). “They’re good, Jalel and I just lounged up in the HQ all day, not much traffic. Even enough time to actually turn in my assignment in time, for the first time like, ever!” Jalel, Lena’s boss, was a dear, but was not to be messed with. He was like a teddy bear which would turn in an actual bear if provoked. He /adored/ his assistant, and always made sure not to drag her into overly dangerous tasks. “Sounds great! But I am afraid your professor might have a heart attack when she realises that you were actually one time, for once.” Lena was studying animation, and her art teacher, in spite of her appreciation for the very much loveable brit, was growing more and more exasperated each time she turned assignment in late. Her current high score was two months late, she had had to dodge the teacher’s incessant calls, emails, and even had to hide in the boys’ bathroom to escape the animation teacher’s wrath. “Are we going by TGV, or are we going the wild way?” Asked Lena, knowing fully well that there were no TGVs scheduled for the day, only trains carrying merchandise or materials for the ever-expanding city that was Lyon.

“Wild way, I imagine.” Grinned the blonde, cracking her knuckles. Lena started stretching, before a distant light warned them of the train arriving. Angela sucked in a shallow breath, she had gotten slightly used to it, but before the big jump, she always got stressed out. Lena took her hand, squeezing reassuringly. They stepped back a bit, waiting for the perfect opportunity. The Brit whistled, and the two girls broke into a sprint, jumping on the train. Angela looked down as she jumped, it felt like time itself had slowed down, the tracks moving fast beneath her feet.

In this moment, she felt everything, the wind in her hair, the blood hammering her temple, the adrenaline running wild in her veins, just like the train speeding through the city. She landed on her knees, but she didn’t feel any pain. She just felt relief and joy. “Not bad, Angie!” Yelled Lena, barely audible over the wind rushing around them. The blonde giggled in response, grabbing Lena’s extended hand, pulling her to her feet. She opened her arms against the wind pushing against her. “Wooohoo!” The tiredness in her bones left, replaced with cheerfulness. Lena imitated her, the two of them started a screaming contest, knowing that nobody could hear them. They screamed in unison, in their heads, they screamed against mean bosses, late nights on papers they knew were going to be awful, failed romances, against a world that kept trying to bury them, yet, here they were: on a train, in the middle of the nights, surrounded by the city’s lights coming from the cafés, the rooftops lit with fairy lights.

Once their voices had died down, it was almost time to get off the train. “Part-Dieu’s in view!” They got to the opposite side of their wagon, trying to avoid the pieces of wood firmly held by metal chains. As soon as the platform was in sight, they ran and jumped. Their landing was not exactly smooth or elegant, but they managed just fine, rolling onto the unclean ground of the C platform. Luckily, there was no one in sight. They got up and dusted themselves off. “We should hurry, I don’t want to miss the opening!” Lena, hyper as ever, grabbed Angela’s hand, running through the train station. Angie really liked the ambiance in those late nights in the train station. People asleep on the benches, or on their luggage, the brave, daring youth vomiting in the bins, getting chastised by the personnel, or the soldiers patrolling under the Sentinelle Act.

Part-Dieu was a street away from Bellecour. They raced down the stairs, to the surprise of a few young men, trying to soothe the burn of alcohol in their system by laying in the fountains, which were luckily not turned on. They didn’t even have to raise their heads to know where the circus was. Loud music echoed through the street, along with a tremendous cheer, from a seemingly overhyped crowd.

Their steps led them to the place, and the crowd that had formed there was nothing short of massive. All around the titanic place that was Bellecour, were decorations, poles challenging the height of the surrounding buildings, with various strips of coloured cloth twirling and joining the other poles in a whirlwind of undeniable beauty. Thankfully, the spectacle had not started yet. “Oh! Cotton Candy!” Exclaimed Lena, almost running to the small stall, dragging her friend along. “I’ll never get over how ridiculous its French name is. Barbapapa.” Angela shook her head, as her friend grabbed their sticks, handing her the extremely sugary candy. “C’mon, Angie, French is the language of love, shall I say it again?” Lena wiggled her eyebrow suggestively. “Do no-” “Omelette du fromage…” She winked, as if she had dropped the smoothest pickup line known to mankind. An exasperated sigh made them turn around. A woman, clad in tight, dark green leather, and what seemed to be a huge necklace made of various leaves, feathers, and flowers. Her hair, held back in a ponytail which showed her remarkably high cheekbones. “Omelette AU fromage.” Sighed the beautiful woman, walking past them, stopping to catch a side glance at the duo. “Jolies crocs, ma belle.” Grinned the Frenchwoman, fading into the crowd. “Angie, I’m pretty sure my ovaries just exploded.” Whined the brit with a shaky voice. “For fuck’s sake, Lena.” “Exploded!” “Oxton, your gay ass is the reason I can’t take you anywhere nice.” Angela sighed, and resumed trying to eat her cotton candy without having it stick to her fingers, which was frankly impossible. While her friend was off rambling about her ovaries getting destroyed by yet another woman, Angela dragged her towards the scene, trying to avoid running into people too much. “It’s about to start, snap out of it!” Chastised the blonde, lightly shaking her friend’s shoulders. All the lights suddenly went down. The crowd went dead silent, and thank God, Lena shut up. Various noises, resembling those of a forest rose from seemingly everywhere. There must’ve been some speakers hidden in the poles’ cloths. On the scene, rose poles looking like bamboo, in a dim cloud of smoke. The first men appeared. Clad in skin-tight blue costumes, with intricate patterns which looked like scales. They gracefully split across the stage, revealing a huge man, whom looked similar to Poseidon, wearing a similarly blue costume, however this one was cut at the torso, revealing an impressive chest covered in blue tattoos, which ran up to his neck, and got lost underneath his equally impressive beard, also covered in the aqua glyphs. He rose his voice. It was not a language Angela knew, though it did sound similar to a mix of Spanish, Italian, and a few hints of French.

Then, the violins started to accompany him. The subtle melody was sublimed when cloths from the nearby polls were thrown onto the bamboos, as the acrobats started their hypnotizing dance, which consisted of intricate swirls and jumps, getting nearer to the public, studying them with their immense, child-like eyes, before promptly jumping back a few steps, as if they were afraid. Their arms moved in perfect harmony with the song, their long arms wrapped in foliage made them look like brisling bushes, moving with the wind. Then, a bright spotlight illuminated a pole on the other side of the Place. An acrobat was standing there, it didn’t take long for the two girls to recognize who it was. “It’s the ‘crocs’ girl!” Thought Angela. “It’s sugar-tits!” Exclaimed Lena, ever a one-track mind. A line from the pole she was currently standing on, with perfect pointes, as if she were a feline and not an actual human being, was linked to the main scene. Graceful as a feather slowly making its way towards the ground, quick as a leopard dashing on its prey, she pounced on the thin line. She rolled on it like it was solid ground, landing on the tight string, under the public’s delirious applause. Her skin, coloured in blue, seemed to sparkle under the limelight. She stopped for an instant, as if enraptured by the art flowing endlessly throughout her body.

In that moment, to Lena ‘useless horny lesbian’ Oxton herself, she was much more than simply a pretty face, she was an ethereal vision of pure, unaltered beauty, as she fended through the air, not unlike a falcon seeking its prey. It felt as if her lungs exalted art, in each and every subtle puff she let slip, as she danced across the thin line, her naked feet strutting, carelessly taking dips, standing on one foot, as the other carelessly dangled in the void. “Woah,” Sighed Oxton, her eyes refusing to leave the entranced woman’s lithe figure dancing across the line, her very ears refusing to acknowledge the man starting to sing in the background.

“She looks…” She didn’t even finish her sentence, completely mesmerised. Angela didn’t dare to shake her friend out of her trance, instead turning around to follow the main attraction. The man whom spoke earlier was now singing, his loud voice booming through the audience, enrapturing, enchanting people who knew little to nothing of the quality of the performance they were currently experiencing. Because such a thing shan’t be qualified as a simple performance, nay, ‘twas an experience, one which touches your very essence, leaving it forever altered. The beauty of the spectacle, the sheer elegance, art was dripping everywhere, like honey from a lover’s lips.

Angela was not exactly a patron of the arts. She was quite fond of them, sure, she even took an option in college, yet, no painting, no simple youtube video of a performance could ever match the feeling which flowed through her veins, drowning her sense with a feeling of everlasting satisfaction. Each artist, acrobat, every piece, foliage of the décor belonged there, it had a meaning, it had an IMPORTANCE.

The dancers strutting along the stage, carrying their aforementioned colleagues, whom were once terrified by the public, were now dancing a breath away from them, standing on the brink of the stage. The public, even though they perfectly could have, did not dare to touch them. The imposing man strode forward on the scene, his glorious mane dyed in various shades of blue, aqua green and purple, his voice carrying the strength of the whole company. The dancer they had met earlier jumped on the platform, landing with a graceful bounce, followed by a salto, ending in the man outstretched arm. They swung their hips rhythm for a short while, before a sharp cry stopped the whole stage altogether.

The artists looked around, jumping away from the crowd. The bamboos-like poles seemed to shake. Then, a creature, which resembled the chimera from the Greek Mythology, fell in the middle of the stage, forcing the imposing man and the gorgeous dancer to step away elegantly. “How many people are in this costume?” Wondered Lena, aloud. “Shhh…” Hushed Angela, entranced couldn’t move her eyes away from the scene. A man, shirtless, flaunting his flawless body, rock-solid abs enhancing an already entrancing silhouette. His dark skin was covered in white war paint, he was walking like a gladiator in an arena. He came to an eye-level with the chimera, growling loud enough for Angela and Lena to catch it from where they stood. He raised his fist, preparing to strike, but suddenly, both him and the beast knelt. A woman, clad in dark red and black from head to toe made her way between the both of them. Her face was covered by her hood, in her hands, she carried two lanterns, oozing purple smoke, adding to her already frightening aura.

“We get it, you vape.” Snorted Lena, not even realising that Angela didn’t even hear a word she said, her eyes almost forgetting to blink, too focused on the spectacle. She dismissed the Gladiator with a flick of her wrist, before running her hand against the beast’s flank. The beast seemed to shudder, whining for everyone to hear. The impressive man left the blue-skinned acrobat, trying to push away the wraith-like creature from the distressed animal.

With a twist of her finger, the man fell to his knees in front of her, as his comrades gasped in shock. She flicked his forehead, causing him to stumble backwards. She pointed an accusatory finger at the man, before gesturing to the blue skinned acrobat. The woman collapsed on the spot, her long hair falling over her face. The other dancers slowly stepped back, some of them running towards the poles, climbing them up, resting at the top like lemurs. Just one remained by the fallen dancer’s side, rocking her in his arms, seemingly weeping. The singer wailed, as the violins’ strings joined his voice, in a requiem-like mood.

The hooded woman, with a lift of her pinkie, invited the fallen beauty to rise, which she did, grabbing her companion by the collar, effortlessly flipping him over, her hands around his throat, strangling him. The blue-skinned woman then joined the mysterious figure. The latter grabbed her smoke-oozing orb, bringing it to her lips, inhaling some of it, before letting the smoke go in the fallen beast’s nostrils. It promptly got up, its previously cream-coloured fur turning a twisted shade of grey, before charging an acrobat. He jumped over the ferocious beast, evading his hit. Its lion head roared at the public, before turning tail, exposing his back, which bore a goat head where his spine met its rear, and most importantly its tail, an enormous snake head, which hissed menacingly. “You know what this reminds me of. Eww, that’s why I’m a lesbian.” Commented Lena, still not deterred at her friend’s lack of response. The hooded lady offered the dancer her arm, and they left together, walking among the forest of bamboos, as the man, rose to his feet and raised his voice, now thunder-like. The artists, hanging on their perches, jumped to the ground, bouncing on their feet, as if there were springs underneath them. They started to run in circles around the singing man, the tempo increased, the hammering of the acrobats’ feet on the stage sounding like drums of war, as the impressive man’s voice grew louder and louder.

The public saw a grapple falling in the middle of this mosh pit-like circle. The man, holding the line with a death grip, showing off his imposing musculature. The violins simply went insane, the musicians, appearing perched atop the poles all around Bellecour, in an orchestra of grief-fuelled wrath. He rose to an incredible height, the climax of the scene was his vertiginous fall. Right as he was about to hit the ground, the music stopped dead in its track with a final bang, the subjects fell to the ground, leaving him standing there, on one knee, his strong fist against the ground. The crowd was silent. He got up, his hair hiding on of his eye. He walked up to the end of the stage, standing on the edge. “This, is not the end,” He started, his shoulders heaving menacingly with each breath.

“Merely the beginning!” As he ended his sentence, fire sprouted from the bamboo poles illuminating Place Bellecour. The lights remained for a few seconds, before the fire died down. The public was cheering, clapping enthusiastically. The whole stage was in the dark, before some dime lights revealed the whole cast, bowing to the audience. “Where’s the hot chick?” Asked Lena, looking frantically on stage.

A noise similar to one of a zipper made them turn around instantly, ever so mindful of pickpockets. “Why, I do hope you meant ‘me’.” She was standing there, hands planted firmly on her hips. Lena was speechless, just looking at her up and down, in utter disbelief. “Your performance was incredible miss…?” Asked Angela, extending her hand, which the acrobat shook with in a most firm handshake. “Amélie.” Confidence was practically oozing off of her. “A pleasure Amélie, I am Angela, and this is Lena.” She pointed to her lust-struck friend. The brit seemed to regain her composure, extending her hand, expecting a handshake. But the Frenchwoman gently took her hand, bringing her lips to her knuckle, leaving a feather-light kiss upon it. “Heureuse de faire ta connaissance, ma belle.” She smirked, as Lena sported 50 shades of red on her face, ears and neck. “The mine is the pleasure.” Blurted out Lena, to Angela and Amélie’s hilarity. The acrobat reached in her more than generous cleavage, to reveal a sticky note. It had a number written on it. “Gérard is going to give out a speech, it should cover the basics, I do hope to see you around at the Moon Circus.” She stuck the note on the gay mess’ cheek, before kissing the other one, pretty close to her lips.

She turned around, raised her arm to a nearby pole, and grappled away. “I hate to see her leave, but bloody hell do I love to watch her go.” Whispered Lena, in awe. “For fuck’s sake.” Sighed Angela, recovering the sticky note before the brit could forget about it. The man Angela had seen earlier appeared on stage in a cloud of smoke.

“Ladies and gentlemen! We are delighted to hear that you appreciated our opening! However, I must inform you of a most tragic news for us, but a truly interesting opportunity for you! Due to the snow blocking the air traffic, a lot of our artists had to cancel. If you have any particular skill, visit us next Sunday for the auditions. Weeeeelcome to the Moon Circus!” His moustache moved with each word he said, speaking in a microphone bearing a similar one. The crowd cheered some more, as paper and leaflets flew across the sky, shot by some cannons which were hidden under the stage.

Lena caught one, looking it over with interest. “Want to apply, Lena?” Angie looked over her friend’s shoulder. “You could, I mean, you’d be bound to earn more than you do at that crappy MacDonald’s. Didn’t you study this before?” Asked the brit, stroking her chin thoughtfully. “I studied Les Arts Du Cirques back in Switzerland, yes, but I am afraid my level of skill is not what they’re looking for.” “There’s a role you’d be perfect for.” Stated Lena, showing her the leaflet. “And what would that be?” “La fille du soleil.” “Your French is fucking awful, Lena.”

[aion-rsa]

Fargo Season 4: The Gang War Between The Chicago Outfit and The Policy Kings

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The following contains spoilers for Fargo season 4.

The FX series Fargo begins every episode of every season with a disclaimer that the stories are true but the names are changed. This gives the show a lot of leeway in picking its stories and how to present them. Fargo season 4 is set in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1950. Two mobs in one small city make a truce, which appears to be traditional in that part of town. It’s been done for at least two generations. Loy Cannon, played by Chris Rock, boss of an African American crime family, trades his youngest son Satchel (Rodney Jones), with the youngest son of Mafia family boss Donatello Fadda (Tommaso Ragno) to keep the peace. Donatello dies shortly after, in the usual unusual circumstances. There is no evidence of this kind of underworld trade in any of the true crime books I personally own, and have found no references to any books which reference it in an internet search. There was a beef in town which resulted in Mafia deaths and racial skirmishes in the Midwest crime world. They are unconnected but fill in some of the gaps.

But the central conflict in Fargo appears to be, at least inspired by, a crime war in the Midwestern city of Chicago where the Bronzeville area’s Policy Kings came up against Sam Giancana’s The Outfit. This is the same outfit Al Capone once ran, but the specific turf war came in the late 1940s and ended in the early 1950s, exactly when Fargo is set.

Sam Giancana is a fairly well-known crime figure whose fingerprints have dusted such high-profile hits as the JFK assassination and the attempted whack on Fidel Castro. He was one of the CIA’s “Family Jewels.” Giancana started out as a getaway driver for the 40 Thieves gang, which started out by busting heads for Chicago’s political bosses. He was the first member of the wild 42 Gang to get pulled into the majors and the very first thing he did when he came to bat for The Outfit was go after the Policy Kings’ numbers racket.

Fargo’s crime history holds that there were two gangs during the early part of the 20th Century, but the African American gang had been running the area’s policy rackets since 1918 and expanded into surrounding neighborhoods during the “Roaring 20s.” Black street gangs formed in the Bronzeville area after the 1919 race riots with Irish gangs. After the riots, the gangs became go-betweens for tourists looking for the best food, a good time, or the hottest jazz clubs, of which the neighborhood was loaded. They also showed out-of-towners where to gamble, get laid, or score drugs. The Policy Kings recruited from street talent, just like the Outfit chose Giancana.

The numbers racket is an illegal street lottery where people pick three numbers which are determined by a random drawing the next day, usually the last three numbers of racetrack totals. You place bets with a bookie and runners transport betting slips and cash to the numbers bank. In the Black section of Chicago it was called the Wheel Game, and the Policy Kings set talented gang members up with wheels of their own. The wheels had two drawings a day, one in the afternoon and another at night, bets were picked up every two hours by wheel men. Bookies got 25 percent of their bets. The bank got the rest. It was a no-lose proposition for the house.

During World War II, the epicenter of the Bronzeville area, Grand Boulevard, housed the Black upper class and celebrities on the east side and the struggling citizens on the west. The Policy Kings was stitched together by a tailor named Edward P. Jones, who went in with his brothers on a Wheel. Edward started as a slip runner and borrowed the $15,000 to start his own wheel, called the Harlem-Bronx, from his mother. Jones’ first runner was Teddy Roe, who was working as a tailor in the shop, which was really a front for a policy wheel. Born in Galliano, Louisiana, and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Roe had been going back and forth between legitimate work and bootlegging, and could pass for white according to the book, Robin Hood of the Hood: The Life and Times of Teddy Roe, Policy King by Ron Chepesiuk and Michael Roe. He would go on to build an illegal gambling empire on Chicago’s South Side.

The street lottery was protected by politicians Edward Joseph Kelly and Patrick Nash. Chicago’s “Big Twelve Policy Syndicate” was organized in 1932. Energized by the Black vote, the city’s Democratic Party gave tacit approval the next year. By 1938 the Policy Kings were making $10,000 a day. Al Capone noticed their success but left the Black neighborhoods in the hands of the Jones Brothers. By 1946, The Policy Kings were pulling in more than $25 million a year.

Racketeers routinely gave back to the community. This bought them goodwill, and more than its investment in terms of alibis. Roe was nicknamed “The Robin Hood of the Southside” because he paid hospital bills for newborns, funeral tabs for the dead, and was known to hand out $50 bills to the homeless. But also, because he expanded into legitimate businesses and hired locally. Like the Chris Rock character’s operation on Fargo, The Policy Kings were the Black community’s banks and employers in Chicago.

The numbers game generated a lot of money to poor neighborhoods and the Policy Kings kept it there, investing in car dealerships, supermarkets and churches. The Jones brothers bought the Ben Franklin department store which employed 150 people, and was also convenient as a front their policy bank. They bought apartment buildings, first on the South Side and then in more affluent neighborhoods. They also lived large. Eddie Jones’ wife Lydia was a former Cotton Club chorus line beauty queen. She wore satin or mink every day.

Jones and Giancana were cellmates at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Giancana was doing time for bootlegging. Jones was serving 28 months for tax evasion, a rap he took to take the heat off his family. The Jones brothers had been working with the other cellmate, Billy Skidmore, who ran 19 casinos inside Chicago’s red-light district. Prodded by Skidmore, a proud Jones told Giancana he ran the biggest of thirty policy games in the city. When Giancana got out of jail in 1946, he brought the idea of taking over the Black policy games to Paul “The Waiter” Ricca, who had been the de facto boss since Capone’s imprisonment, but he and future Outfit boss Tony Accardo, also known as “Joe Batters” and “Big Tuna,” were caught up in a Hollywood labor investigation.

Giancana and “Fat” Leonard Caifano, a bookmaker and loan shark, visited Jones in prison to get him to put up the money for a vending machine operation. Jones gave his brother George orders to bankroll it. Within six months, they had 12,000 jukeboxes, cigarette and pinball machines, and a crew of about 500. The machines were legal, but the soda, candy, records and cigarettes which were in them fell off the backs of trucks.

The mob, seeing earning potential in the African American neighborhood, kidnapped Jones in May of 1946, and demanded $100,000 and a promise he hand over the policy rackets as ransom. Jones was held for five days and released at the corner of Loomis and 62nd Street, with adhesive tape over his eyes, and cotton stuffed in his ears. Roe paid the money, but decided to keep the rackets for himself. Jones moved his whole family to Mexico, though they could have moved to the villa in France where their mother Harriet lived.

Roe did not like or trust the white mob. He was respected as a crook with honor because he refused to give in to the Outfit, stiffing the mobsters their street tax. Ricca and Accardo didn’t take interest in the Black policy rackets until November of 1946, when Tom Manno drove them to the operation’s basement counting room which was filled with piles of money stacked to the ceiling. Accardo gave the order to take control of the policy business by January 1947.

Caifano tried to work out a partnership agreement, but Roe refused to even meet with him. He never backed down from a fight, vowing never knuckle under to any white gangster. A dozen mobsters from The Outfit and an unknown number of Roe’s gang were killed in the gang battle by the end of 1946. Caifano took over gambling parlors and set up bookie joints in the Black wards. Roe’s house was bombed, his wife and children were shot at, his collectors were beaten. Roe became a living legend in the Black community just for surviving, and it was good for business as the betting grew as part of neighborhood unity.

Giancana personally met with Roe. He offered him $250,000 in cash to quit the policy rackets. Roe told him “I’ll die first.” Giancana reasoned he “just might.” On June 19, 1951, Fat Lenny tried to kidnap Roe. He and his brother, Marshall Caifano, along with Vincent Ioli flagged down Roe and his three off-duty Chicago-cop bodyguards. Fat Lenny got shot in the head when they tried to pull Roe into the car. Bill Baxter, one of the off-duty cops, reputedly fired the fatal shot, but Roe took the rap.

The Chicago Police Department booked Roe for murder and put him in Cook County jail. After hearing reports he might be executed, they put him under extra heavy guard and Roe’s meals were prepared outside the jail in case someone tried to poison him. Roe was also charged with conspiracy to violate the state anti-gambling statute. He was denied bail six times before and during his trial. For the murder charge, Roe pleaded self-defense. His defense team linked the prosecution to the mob and Roe beat the case. Roe told reporters “They’ll have to kill me to take me” when he left the courtroom.

But Roe didn’t beat mob rule. Lenny Caifano was a made man, and his brother Marshall Joseph Caifano, was a capo. After Caifano’s killing, Giancana waged a shakedown war on Chicago’s Black bookmakers. Roe was hiding out in his mansion on South Michigan Avenue. He hired a small army for protection, according to Kings: The True Story of Chicago’s Policy Kings and Numbers Racketeers by Nathan Thompson. On Aug. 1, 1952, doctors told Roe he had incurable cancer. He dismissed his bodyguard. On August 4, 1952, he left his house dressed in a three-piece suit and hat. Roe was hit in the back, face and jaw by five blasts from a 12-gage shotgun before he reached the other side of the street. He did not have a chance to pull out his revolver. He died slumped against a tree outside 5239 S. Michigan Ave.

“The king is dead,” Chicago newspapers reported. Roe’s was the biggest funeral Chicago’s Black community had since Jack Johnson, the first African American world heavyweight boxing champ, died in 1946. Roe was laid out in a $5,000 casket. He had an 81-car funeral procession. Thousands of people lined the streets.

Police said they had no clues in the killing. They disagreed on whether the Outfit hired hit men or if it was other racketeers. In the early 1970s, Giancana was caught on an FBI wire tape admitting Roe “went out like a man. He had balls. It was a fuckin’ shame to kill him.”

After the last Policy King was gunned down, Giancana took over the Policy racket and began selling Heroin. The largest street gang in the neighborhood by that time was the Deacons, who could do little to protect the neighborhood. 

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Fargo airs Sundays at 9 pm on FX.

The post Fargo Season 4: The Gang War Between The Chicago Outfit and The Policy Kings appeared first on Den of Geek.

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The Linc - T.J. Yeldon listed among potential Eagles free agent targets

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Three free agents who make sense for the Eagles, version 3.0 - PhillyVoice The last time we looked at three free agents who make sense for the Eagles, we included Falcons running back Tevin Coleman, who is a good receiver, and who has low mileage because he was used as a complementary back alongside Devonta Freeman. T.J. Yeldon was used similarly in Jacksonville, playing behind Leonard Fournette. Yeldon is a bigger back, and has similar measurables to Jay Ajayi, at 6’1, 223. In 3rd- and 4th-and-short situations over his career, Yeldon has 22 carries for 90 yards (12 first downs) and 3 TDs. That’s a small sample size for a back who has been in the league for four years, but it’s certainly a major step up from what Josh Adams provided in 2018. He also has 9 catches for 69 yards (8 first downs) in those short yardage situations.

Adam Schefter discusses Eagles’ interest in Le’Veon Bell, Nick Foles’ next team, and more - BGN With Howie Roseman clearing up at least $19.2 million in cap space this week, some are wondering if the Eagles are gearing up to pursue the top free agent running back on the market: Le’Veon Bell. Schefter made it sound like Philly isn’t the front-runner for his services, however.

The Kist & Solak Show #82: Howie & The Combine - BGN Radio Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak get you all caught up on Howie Roseman’s wheelings and dealings, including extending Jason Kelce/Isaac Seumalo and restructuring Lane Johnson! Then, it’s all about the 2019 NFL Combine recap baby! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Big Names - Iggles Blitz Would a veteran like Glover Quin have interest in coming to Philly as a role player? There are a slew of younger players who might have to take a lesser role due to a flooded market. Tre Boston has played for three teams in three years, but he’s been productive for all of them. Jimmie Ward has the kind of versatility and coverage skills the Eagles seem to like. Ha-Ha Clinton Dix and Landon Collins once looked like stars in the making. You wonder if they would sign one of those guys to a short deal. Is there any way they Eagles could sign Eric Weddle and make McLeod the #3 safety? That would be interesting to be sure. Weddle is versatile a playmaker. It would be fun to see him in midnight green.

2020 Compensatory Picks Potential - Over The Cap By declining a $20 million option on Nick Foles, he should enter the pool of UFAs eligible to become compensatory free agents, and any quarterback capable of getting a starter level deal will be securely in the 3rd round range of the formula. But it doesn’t end there: the Eagles also have Ronald Darby, Jordan Hicks, Jay Ajayi, and Corey Graham hitting the market—as well as Golden Tate, who they acquired in a trade with the possible intention of getting back draft capital via compensatory picks. If the Eagles don’t plan on keeping some of these players, look for them to pull out all options available to make sure they get comp picks for them, given that they’ve proven themselves devoted to that cause last offseason. Potential: Very High

Replacing Nick Foles: Meet the candidate(s) to be Eagles’ backup QB - ESPN If the Eagles are serious about giving Sudfeld a chance to win the job -- and the belief here is they are -- that would seemingly have an impact on whom they bring in. It’s difficult to envision Teddy Bridgewater or Ryan Tannehill (if he shakes loose from the Dolphins) serving as potential third-stringers, right? The same might be said for Case Keenum or Tyrod Taylor assuming their market holds up. Can the Eagles catch someone such as Blake Bortles on the rebound? Otherwise, the QBs who fit the bill -- ones who bring experience and could be pegged for the No. 2 or No. 3 spot -- are along the lines of Matt Cassel, Josh McCown, and perhaps Ryan Fitzpatrick -- depending on his demands/mindset.

Who are the biggest bargains on the Eagles’ roster? - NBCSP How is a $6.7 million average salary a bargain? Because there are 23 quarterbacks who are earning more than Carson Wentz. At some point, the Eagles will give Wentz a deal in the $30 million-per-year ballpark, but until that happens his cheap-o rookie QB deal gives the Eagles flexibility to add crucial parts around him so once he does sign that max deal the Eagles have a team capable of challenging for a championship.

The 20 players most likely to be the Eagles’ first draft pick - The Athletic 1. Christian Wilkins (Clemson defensive tackle). As a reminder, this does not mean Wilkins is who I think will sit atop the Eagles’ board. It’s who I think is most likely to be their first pick … which probably means there’s like a five-percent chance he’s the guy. Let’s start with the bad: He’s almost 24. Wonder if the Eagles will ask him if he feels bad about the baby boomers ruining America for the rest of us. Otherwise, he seems like an ideal fit. He played on the edge at times earlier in his Clemson career (during the Carter administration) before transitioning inside, where he projects at the next level. At 6-3, 315 pounds, his combine performance was pedestrian, which could help push him further down the board on draft day. He ranks atop this list because he checks every box. He profiles as an instant-impact player at a position of short- and long-term need that Roseman has historically considered worthy of a first-round investment. Depending on how things break on draft day, he could very well slide into range for the Eagles. And he’s almost eligible for social security.

NFL Draft Big Board: The Post-Combine Top 100 - Sports Illustrated 12. Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson. Height: 6’ 31⁄4” | Weight: 315 poundsAn electric athlete at 300-plus pounds, Wilkins was considered a team leader on a dominant Clemson defense and should immediately provide an interior disruptor who can wreck the backfield. He has some limits against the run, but that’s a trade off most teams can live with.

2019 NFL free agency: Safeties no longer forgotten, the rise of the slot receiver and more insider notes - CBS Sports I continue to hear the Jags remain somewhat split on what to pay Nick Foles, and that Tom Coughlin remains very intrigued by some quarterbacks in this draft. Will Foles get the $20M he had in hand on the Eagles’ team option (which he paid $2M to get out of)? Does anyone besides Jacksonville have even lukewarm interest in him as a starter? And could they get Case Keenum on the cheap once Denver cuts him? Not sure this is the slam dunk everyone seems to think. Teddy Bridgewater, still just 26, could have something to say about all of this in the end. Ultimately, I expect Foles does go to the Jags – on Coughlin’s terms – and if the Cardinals take Kyler Murray as everyone expects and deal Josh Rosen to Washington, the Dolphins would be foolish not to strongly consider Bridgewater then. Question is, if I am Bridgewater, am I better off going back to New Orleans behind Drew Brees – who can’t play forever – than I am possibly getting broken in half by a bad, rebuilding/tanking Fins team that may just want to take a QB at the top of the 2020 draft, anyway?

Nick Foles probably won’t get $20 million per season - Big Cat Country I do not think Foles is going to get a deal in the $20 million range because frankly there isn’t the market for that. That could be what Foles’ agent is going to try to get him, because I do not think Foles himself is going to be looking for a monster deal, since that’s what agents do... but the market just isn’t there.

NFL Rumors: Redskins inquired about QB Teddy Bridgewater at the Combine - Hogs Haven Is he a potential starter for any team besides the Redskins? It’s possible, but Washington does seem like his best chance at this point. How much will a QB like Bridgewater cost? His career was derailed by injury, and now he’s been playing a backup role.

McShay: Giants in “tough spot” to get a quarterback in 2019 NFL Draft - Big Blue View “If you’re the Giants you’re really in a tough spot. You’re sitting there saying one of these guys could fall to us but if we wait until draft day all of a sudden two teams could jump us,” McShay said.

Do the New York Giants actually have a plan? - SB Nation The New York Giants had until Tuesday to give Landon Collins the franchise or transition tag to make sure he’s on the roster for another year. They opted against it, and now the path is clear for the three-time Pro Bowl safety to hit the free agency market. He’s already said his goodbyes. When Collins inevitably signs elsewhere, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will be the only player drafted by the Giants between 2008 and 2015 who is still on the team’s roster. That dearth of good drafting left the roster in serious need of a boost. In December 2017, the Giants hired Dave Gettleman as general manager to get the franchise back on track. But a little over a year into his rebuild, it’s hard to see what exactly his plan is for the team.

Setting the Market for the NFL’s Five Most Interesting Free Agent Position Groups - The Ringer This spring may not see a blockbuster deal like Kirk Cousins’s or massive contracts for multiple superstars, but at positions like pass rusher, QB, safety, offensive line, and running back, there will be plenty of options for teams to consider

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/3/7/18254453/eagles-news-t-j-yeldon-listed-among-potential-philadelphia-free-agent-targets-running-back-jaguars

[junker-town]

All the NFL free agency rumors you need to know

Le’Veon Bell finally has a new home and a bunch of big names got traded. What will happen next?

The race to Super Bowl 54 begins March 13. That’s the first day teams can officially sign the free agents who can push their rosters over the top and into the NFL’s record books.

This year’s class of available players is loaded with talent, though most of it comes on the defensive side of the ball. Pocket-crumpling pass rushers like DeMarcus Lawrence, Jadeveon Clowney, and Frank Clark all received the franchise tag and will be staying put. Versatile safeties like Landon Collins, Earl Thomas, and Lamarcus Joyner all cashed in during free agency.

There aren’t as many recognizable offensive standouts in this year’s list of available players, but the headliner is big enough to make up for a lack of depth behind him. Le’Veon Bell finally earned unrestricted free agency after two years of Steelers’ franchise tags, one of which the three-time All-Pro played an Uno “skip” card. The 27-year-old tailback got to choose where he’ll like to play next as he searches for the massive multi-year deal that includes the guaranteed money he couldn’t find in Pittsburgh — and he picked the Jets.

Even though there are many big playmakers hitting free agency, a couple more could be available via trade. The Steelers traded Antonio Brown, while the Giants sent Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns.

How are franchises lining up for what promises to be a mid-March spending spree? Here are some of the rumors following the league’s top free agents into the official start of bidding season.

Free agent rumors

Jay Ajayi, RB

2018 team: Philadelphia Eagles

Ajayi only played in four games last year due to injury, but he’s just 25 and has been productive when healthy. He has a visit lined up with the Colts.

Kwon Alexander, ILB

2018 team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Alexander has missed 14 games the past two seasons, but that’s not scaring off the 49ers. General manager John Lynch is set to make him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the game with a four-year, $54 million deal.

Dwayne Allen, TE

2018 team: New England Patriots

The day after he was officially released by the Patriots, Allen visited the Ravens. The veteran tight end is also drawing interest from the Bills and met with the Lions and Dolphins as well.

Shortly after, he decided to stay in the AFC East and reunite with Brian Flores:

The #Dolphins and TE Dwayne Allen agreed to terms on a 2-year deal worth $7M, source said. A nice payday for a locker room leader and good guy.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2019

Danny Amendola, WR

2018 team: Miami Dolphins

33-year-old Amendola spend just one season in Miami before getting released. As soon as he was, the rumors already started up about a possible return to New England:

Amendola would be interested in returning to the Patriots https://t.co/d6qXNWaZYR

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 8, 2019

But instead of moving back to New England, Amendola picked the Great Value version of Bill Belichick’s team — he’ll reunite with Matt Patricia by signing with the Detroit Lions. The deal is a one-year pact worth up to $5.75 million.

Ezekiel Ansah, DE

2018 team: Detroit Lions

Ansah played in just seven games last season and is recovering from shoulder surgery, so he has received a ton of interest on the market. Still, the 30-year-old pass rusher met with the Bills and will next visit the Saints.

Anthony Barr, LB

2018 team: Minnesota Vikings

Barr was expected to sign with the Jets, where he could return to his old college position off the edge. And welp, never mind:

Plot twist! LB Anthony Barr has decided to agree to terms to remain with the #Vikings, sources say. He will not be a member of the #Jets after all.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2019

Cole Beasley, WR

2018 team: Dallas Cowboys

The Bills needed receivers to help second-year quarterback Josh Allen. They might not have gotten Antonio Brown, but they did add John Brown and now Beasley:

#Bills aren't done at WR. They will sign WR Cole Beasley, sources say. He'll get $29 million over four years.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2019

Le’Veon Bell, RB

2018 team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert says the team won’t franchise or transition tag Bell this offseason. He’ll be completely free to negotiate with teams across the league this spring.

The Jets have long been a favorite to land Bell’s services, but after the combine, the Ravens emerged as another strong contender. The Raiders, who famously acquired Bell’s former Pittsburgh teammate Antonio Brown, are also in the mix. The Colts, however, are not.

And while the Jets lost out on Anthony Barr, they’re still trying to make a push for Bell:

With Anthony Barr spurning the #Jets, they have some extra money. I’m told they’ve taken some of that money and made a last and final big offer to Le’Veon Bell. It’s decision time for the ex-#Steelers RB.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2019

Former NFL receiver Antonio Bryant says that Bell has made up his mind, though the team is still TBD. It’s likely down to the Jets, Ravens, ... and maybe the Raiders?

Well, if there’s one thing Le’Veon Bell likes, it’s deadlines:

The #Jets have given Le’Veon Bell a deadline to decide if he is going to sign or not, per sources. They’re not waiting forever.

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) March 12, 2019

If he doesn’t land in New York, there’s reportedly a list of teams waiting for the price to drop so they can jump in the mix.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen suggested some NFL teams are waiting to pounce if Le'Veon Bell's price comes down with market slower than expected. "I know some teams that are waiting to jump in there at a lower market value."

— Evan Silva (@evansilva) March 12, 2019

Maybe the Jets’ ultimatum worked or maybe there wasn’t much of a bidding war, but Bell landed exactly where most predicted he would:

Former Steelers’ RB Le’Veon Bell plans to sign with…the New York Jets, a league source tells ESPN

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2019

Martellus Bennett, TE

2018 team: n/a

Marty B spent the 2017 season with the Packers and Patriots before retiring in the offseason. With brother Michael Bennett heading to New England, Martellus might consider a return to the NFL to play alongside his older sibling:

Michael and Martellus Bennett always have wanted to play together. Now that the Patriots are trading for Michael, Martellus is interested in coming out of retirement to join his brother in New England, per a source. Then would be the McCourty and Bennett Bros. in New England.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2019

The Patriots also have an open spot at tight end after Dwayne Allen’s release. Michael Bennett isn’t buying it, though.

Eric Berry, S

2018 team: Kansas City Chiefs

Shortly after free agency officially began, the Chiefs announced the release of safety Eric Berry. It’s a surprising move simply because he leaves the Chiefs with $14.95 million in dead cap. Berry has only played in three games over the past two seasons, but before that, he was one of the league’s best safeties since being selected in the first round by the Chiefs in 2010. The Cowboys were unable to sign Earl Thomas, but they could find solace in another former All-Pro in Berry.

If not, Berry should garner interest from other teams:

Eric Berry’s visit in Dallas is complete, I’m told. He’s headed to the airport. More visits are expected to be scheduled.

— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) March 19, 2019

Blake Bortles, QB

2018 team: Jacksonville Jaguars

Foles’ impending arrival in Florida means the Jags have to do something with Bortles — and paying him $21 million to serve as a backup isn’t in the card. After the team signed Nick Foles, the former No. 3 overall pick was released, leaving him free to sign with any other team in the league.

He only needed one free agent visit to find his new home — he’ll back up Jared Goff with the LA Rams.

Free agent QB Blake Bortles, recently released by the Jaguars, will visit the Rams on Monday, according to a team source... @AroundTheNFL @nflnetwork

— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 16, 2019

Teddy Bridgewater, QB

2018 team: New Orleans Saints

One report said that Bridgewater wasn’t out of the running for the Jaguars’ job, though that ended up going to Nick Foles. He reportedly turned down a more lucrative offer to compete for Miami’s starting role to remain in New Orleans as Drew Brees’ eventual successor, but that’s still TBD as well.

One reason that he might be hesitant to stay with the Saints: The rumor that Sean Payton could replace Jason Garrett in 2020.

Bridgewater visited the Dolphins at the start of free agency, though he left without a deal and ended up re-signing with the Saints for a year.

John Brown, WR

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

The Bills finally landed a receiver with the last name Brown:

WR John Brown and the Buffalo Bills have agreed to terms, per source. @nflnetwork

— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) March 12, 2019

Trent Brown, LT

2018 team: New England Patriots

Brown is one of the hottest offensive linemen available in 2019, and he’s not expected to linger on this year’s open market. Teams expect him to decide on a new contract in advance of Wednesday’s official start to free agency.

So far, the Raiders look like the early favorite, although Ian Rapoport also mentioned the Texans as a possibility.

Keep an eye on the #Raiders as OT Trent Brown's market heats up. Internally, he's one of their top targets in free agency. pic.twitter.com/xIalBaf4fw

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2019

“This a player, I’m told, internally they love and are ready to spend for. This could be a player that the Oakland Raiders lock in pretty quickly in free agency if all goes well.”

Indeed, it was the Raiders who jumped up with a big offer — one Brown intends to sign Wednesday afternoon.

Former Patriots’ OT Trent Brown intends to sign a four-year, $66 million contract that includes $36.75 million guaranteed with the Oakland Raiders, per source, making him highest paid OL in NFL history.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2019

Dez Bryant, WR

2018 team: New Orleans Saints

Bryant tore his Achilles days after signing with the Saints last offseason. As they’ve said all along, they’re interested in bringing him back.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S

2018 teams: Green Bay Packers, Washington

Washington hasn’t been able to re-sign the player it traded for midway through the 2018 season. Now it’s in danger of losing him to the Bears, who need a replacement for Adrian Amos.

Shortly after Clinton-Dix’s visit in Chicago, he signed with the Bears.

Randall Cobb, WR

2018 team: Green Bay Packers

The versatile veteran could wind up filling a major need with the. Cowboys. He’s taking a visit to Dallas March 18.

It must have gone well, because Cobb signed a one-year deal with the team the following day.

Tevin Coleman, RB

2018 team: Atlanta Falcons

As one of the youngest, top running backs to hit free agency, Coleman should have a few suitors. One of them is the tailback-needy Eagles, but he decided to reunite with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.

Jamie Collins, LB

2018 team: Cleveland Browns

The Browns were unable to find a trade partner to offload their high-priced inside linebacker, so they decided to release him instead — saving more than $9 million in cap space in the process. The 28-year-old now heads to free agency, where he can be a valuable, if limited, presence in the middle of the field.

Landon Collins, S

2018 team: New York Giants

Collins is headed for free agency, which in retrospective, shouldn’t be a surprise. The safety reportedly packed up much of his locker in northern New Jersey in February. ESPN’s Josina Anderson’s sources suggested he doesn’t expect to be with the club in 2019, while the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz refuted those reports. Collins himself checked in to make it clear he wasn’t entirely thrilled about the idea of playing for New York under a tag.

The stuff in that locker that I have left I do not need

— LANDON COLLINS (@TheHumble_21) February 20, 2019

Collins was reportedly prepared for a long contract standoff if he got tagged this spring — possibly long enough to last into the 2019 season. The Giants could’ve kept him in white and blue with the franchise tag at a cost of just over $12 million for 2019. However, despite contract talks between the two sides, the Giants let Collins walk.

Now, the Giants’ loss is another team’s gain. The Chiefs reportedly are high on the idea of adding the three-time Pro Bowler. The Cowboys, however, are not.

Collins ended up staying in the NFC East, signing a huge deal with Washington.

Jared Cook, TE

2018 team: Oakland Raiders

Cook, who was arguably the Raiders’ best weapon last year, would be a solid add for any team that needs a veteran tight end. Like the Saints, who lost Benjamin Watson to retirement:

#Raiders FA TE Jared Cook, the top available player at his position, is scheduled to visit the #Saints tomorrow, source said. There is a void there right now.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2019

Cook is expected to sign with New Orleans, giving Drew Brees a third dynamic weapon alongside Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara in 2019.

Michael Crabtree, WR

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens signed the veteran receiver to a three-year deal last March, but they’re releasing him after just one season. He finished 2018 with just 54 catches for 607 yards and three touchdowns. That’s not much production and Crabtree will be 32 at the start of next season. Still, this isn’t a deep year for free agent receivers.

Jamison Crowder, WR

2018 team: Washington

Crowder’s dynamic play from the slot was underutilized in a bad offensive season for Washington. He’ll work to rebuild his value after signing with the receiver-needy Jets.

Jonathan Cyprien, S

2018 team: Tennessee Titans

Cyprien’s disappointing run in Nashville will come to an end this spring. The Titans plan to release the run-stuffing safety after two seasons and only 10 games with the club. The move will create nearly $5 million in salary cap savings and clears Tennessee to re-sign him at a lower price in 2019.

Pierre Desir, CB

2018 team: Indianapolis Colts

At least a couple teams are interested in the 28-year-old corner, including the Giants and 49ers. But he’s staying in Indianapolis on a new three-year deal.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

2018 team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Fitzmagic is staying in Florida. But he’s making his way back to the AFC East, this time with the Miami Dolphins on a two-year deal.

Nick Foles, QB

2018 team: Philadelphia Eagles

Foles voided his mutual option for the 2019 season, but the Eagles could have still use their franchise tag to retain his rights. They won’t, though, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent this spring.

The Jaguars were always the favorites to sign Foles, but one report says the Giants could be interested too. During the NFL Combine, one report said the Jaguars were the only team with real interest in Foles. Now, they’re signing him.

For a tremendous amount of money.

Guranteed money for Nick Foles in Jacksonville, per source: $50.125 million. https://t.co/45h5eJtHkM

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2019

Trey Flowers, DE

2018 team: New England Patriots

Flowers will hit the free agent market this spring, as the Patriots don’t intend to use their franchise tag on him or any player in 2019. He then reunited with his former DC, Matt Patricia, in Detroit.

Dante Fowler Jr., EDGE

2018 teams: Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams

Fowler has yet to live up to the pre-draft pedigree that pushed the Jags to draft him with the No. 3 overall pick in 2016, but that hasn’t scared away potential suitors this spring. The Jets and 49ers are both reportedly lining up offers for the 24-year-old pass rusher. But the Rams ended up keeping Fowler, who played well once he was traded to LA, on a “prove it” deal.

Devin Funchess, WR

2018 team: Carolina Panthers

The once-rising wideout won’t return to Carolina for his fifth season in the league. The former Michigan star failed to follow up on 2017’s breakout 840-yard campaign, but a change of scenery could be all he needs to get back on track as a starting receiver. He’s getting a one-year deal with the Colts that could pay him up to $13 million.

Frank Gore, RB

2018 team: Miami Dolphins

The ageless Gore finished 2018 on injured reserve, but that didn’t stop his season from proving he’s still got plenty of gas left in the tank. The Bills are dealing with their own veteran tailback in LeSean McCoy, but they’re allegedly interested in keeping Gore in the AFC East. A one-year, $2 million deal ensured Buffalo would have the league’s oldest tailback platoon.

Robbie Gould, K

2018 team: San Francisco 49ers

The Niners used their franchise tag to retain Gould, who led the league in field goal percentage after making 33 of his 34 attempts in 2018.

Robert Griffin III, QB

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

Griffin is a free agent, but he’s interested in staying with Baltimore to support second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson as the team’s backup in 2019.

Johnathan Hankins, DT

2018 team: Oakland Raiders

Hankins continued his streak of excellent play in the middle last fall, and that caught John Elway’s eye. The Broncos were interested in adding him to their stable., but Big Hank ended up staying with the Raiders on a new two-year deal.

Carlos Hyde, RB

2018: Cleveland Brown, Jacksonville Jaguars

Shortly after his release from Jacksonville, Hyde already has a free agent visit lined up. The veteran back met with the Chiefs.

And just like that, he signed a new deal with Kansas City:

Chiefs are giving former Jaguars’ RB Carlos Hyde a one-year, $2.8 million deal - $1.6 million of which is guaranteed, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2019

Mark Ingram, RB

2018 team: New Orleans Saints

The dynamic backfield duo of Ingram and Alvin Kamara is no more. The Saints are signing Latavius Murray to a four-year deal — though they did offer Ingram an undisclosed amount to stay:

The #Saints reached out to Ingram. Made an offer and repeatedly said they wanted him to stay. Loved his flexibility and interchangeability in the offense. Will miss the closeness he and Alvin Kamara. Unique bond. https://t.co/Yk1MAqp5NP

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 12, 2019

He’ll now hit free agency, where the Ravens are interested — and then landed Ingram on a three-year deal.

Malik Jackson, DT

2018 team: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars parted ways with their prized free agent acquisition of 2016 to get some salary cap relief. Immediately after his release, Jackson drew interest. According to Pro Football Talk, the Packers were one of the finalists for the 2017 Pro Bowler.

Instead it was the Eagles that nabbed Jackson on a three-year, $30 million deal.

The #Eagles are expected to sign DT Malik Jackson on a 3-year deal worth $30M, source said. The deal isn’t agreed to yet, but it is getting there.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2019

Ja’Wuan James, OT

2018 team: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins were interested in re-signing James, but it’s hard to top an offer like the Broncos made him:

Former Dolpins’ OT JaWuan James intends to sign a four-year, $52 million deal that includes $32 million guaranteed with the Denver Broncos, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2019

James will now be the highest-paid right tackle in the league.

Grady Jarrett, DT

2018 team: Atlanta Falcons

Jarrett is staying in Atlanta in 2019. The problem-solving defensive mainstay signed his franchise tender for the upcoming season, locking him into at least one more year with the Falcons.

Kevin Johnson, CB

2018 team: Houston Texans

The oft-injured former first round pick is drawing plenty of interest after being released by the Texans. He visited the Bills, Browns, and Jets in his quest to find a new NFL home. He’s set to sign with Buffalo, pending a contract review.

Lamarcus Joyner, S

2018 team: Los Angeles Rams

A year after getting the franchise tag from the Rams, Joyner instead will hit the open market as one of the top safeties in a crowded market. It didn’t take long for him to land a deal, though. He’s joining the Raiders on a four-year deal.

DeMarcus Lawrence, DE

2018 team: Dallas Cowboys

Lawrence isn’t interested in being tagged by the Cowboys for a second straight year. The dynamic pass rusher would reportedly refuse to sign a franchise tender this spring, giving way to a potential Bell-esque showdown between the two sides. Dallas would prefer to sign Lawrence to a long-term deal rather than resort to using the tag anyway.

That didn’t happen. Lawrence, to his displeasure, got the franchise tag yet again. He has already said he won’t sign the tender, meaning the two sides have until July 15 to reach a long-term deal or things will get ugly in Dallas. NFL Network’s Jane Slater also said Lawrence felt “disrespected” by what has happened.

You know what’s a good cure for disrespect? A nine-figure contract. Lawrence is expected to re-sign with the Cowboys on a five-year deal worth more than $100 million.

Tyrann Mathieu, S

2018 team: Houston Texans

Mathieu is one of the most dynamic playmakers at the safety position, and the Texans want to bring him back. Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t seem like that’s happening, as Mathieu is joining the Chiefs on a three-year, $42 million deal.

C.J. Mosley, LB

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

The rangy inside linebacker will get the opportunity to test the waters of free agency this spring. Baltimore won’t use its franchise tag to retain Mosley, though that doesn’t mean he won’t be back with the team. They are currently trying to re-sign Mosley to a long-term deal, and have “sweetened their offer” to him, but the two sides haven’t agreed to anything yet.

No matter how sweet that offer was, it probably didn’t touch the Jets’. New York reset the inside linebacker market by inking Mosley to a five-year, $85 million contract that pays him over $4m more annually than Carolina’s Luke Kuechly.

Latavius Murray, RB

2018 team: Minnesota Vikings

The 29-year-old Murray will serve as Mark Ingram’s replacement/Alvin Kamara’s complement in New Orleans. He signed a four-year deal with the Saints.

Jordy Nelson, WR

2018 team: Oakland Raiders

With Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams on board, the Raiders said goodbye to Nelson after one season. The soon-to-be 34-year-old was the most productive receiver for Oakland in 2018. He’s got a visit with the Seahawks coming up soon, but there are several suitors interested in his services.

Former Packers’ WR Jordy Nelson is scheduled to visit the Seahawks on Tuesday, per source. They were interested in Nelson last year; GM John Schneider loves Nelson. Other interested teams at this point include: Patriots, Titans, Chiefs, Raiders.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 18, 2019

DeVante Parker, WR

2018 team: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins were expected to release the former first-round pick. Parker had his least productive season as a pro in 2018, making only 24 receptions in 11 games. Instead, they’re giving him a new two-year deal worth $13 million.

Cody Parkey, K

2018 team: Chicago Bears

To no surprise of anyone who watched the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, the Bears are expected to release Parkey at the start of the new league year. Despite his infamous double-doink field goal miss that ended Chicago’s 2018 season, Parkey should be able to find a new team.

Cordarrelle Patterson, WR/KR

2018 team: New England Patriots

New England’s Swiss Army Knife is headed to Chicago to give the Bears the league’s deadliest special teams tandem. Patterson will team with Tarik Cohen in the NFC North after signing a two-year, $10 million deal with Chicago.

Breshad Perriman, WR

2018 team: Cleveland Browns

Perriman never panned out with the Ravens, but the former first-round pick caught on with the Browns last season. That was enough for them to re-sign the receiver to a one-year deal ... until they traded for OBJ. Now he’s going to the Bucs:

After trade for Odell Beckham Jr., Browns’ GM John Dorsey and agent Drew Rosenhaus mutually agreed to not to follow through on verbal agreement with WR Breshad Perriman, per @mortreport and me. Perriman now will sign a one-year, $4 million deal with Tampa Bay, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2019

Adrian Peterson, RB

2018 team: Washington

After an “I’m not washed yet” season with Washington, the soon-to-be 34-year-old is returning to the nation’s capital:

RB Adrian Peterson just called me and told me "I am going back to the #Redskins. It will be a 2-year deal. I feel like we made some good moves to get to where we are trying to go."

— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 13, 2019

Spencer Pulley, OL

2018 team: New York Giants

The Giants made a major move to overhaul their o-line by trading for Kevin Zeitler, but decided Spencer Pulley did well enough in his lone year in north Jersey to stick around. The club signed the former undrafted free agent to a three-year deal.

Sheldon Richardson, DT

2018 team: Minnesota Vikings

Richardson’s solid season in his first year away from New York earned him a three-year, $39 million contract to add some veteran punch to the middle of the Browns’ defensive line. He’ll join Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, and Larry Ogunjobi to form one of the AFC’s fastest-rising pass rushes.

Greg Robinson, OL

2018 team: Cleveland Browns

The former No. 2 overall pick will re-sign with the Browns after putting together one of the best seasons of his maligned career in Cleveland.

Bradley Roby, CB

2018 team: Denver Broncos

The former first-round pick is getting plenty of attention on the free agent market, but he’s decided to sign with the cornerback-needy Texans:

Broncos former first round pick CB Bradley Roby is signing with the the Texans for 1 year and 10 million, per source.

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) March 12, 2019

Roby said he turned down offers from the Steelers and 49ers to take the “prove it” deal with the Texans.

Rodger Saffold, LG

2018 team: Los Angeles Rams

Saffold is scheduled to become a free agent and the Rams are not expected to re-sign him due to their limited cap space. Rams GM Les Snead said that Saffold would be too “expensive” for them to retain. That made him one of the more coveted players on the free agent market, given how rarely high-end offensive linemen become available.

The Titans snapped him up on a four-year deal.

Za’Darius Smith, LB

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay is adding an underrated punch to its pass rush. The Packers reportedly scooped Smith away from Baltimore after his breakout 8.5-sack season with a multi-year deal.

Terrell Suggs, LB

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

Suggs is coming back for a 17th season, and possibly his first outside of Baltimore. The Ravens are interested in keeping the veteran leader around, but instead, he’s signing with the Cardinals.

Ndamukong Suh, DT

2018 team: Los Angeles Rams

The Rams acquired Suh on a one-year deal last season and it paid off, though not with a Super Bowl win. And now that the one-year rental is done, the Rams plan to let Suh hit free agency to test his market. One report says he wants to play for a West Coast team.

Golden Tate, WR

2018 teams: Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles

Tate may be the top option on a limited list of free agent wideouts, and he’s interested in catching passes from Tom Brady. New England needs to replenish its receiving corps, but Bill Belichick’s bargain hunting ways kept the veteran WR from being a realistic option in Foxborough. Tate ended up not too far away, with the Giants, who were suddenly in need of a No. 1 WR.

Tyrod Taylor, QB

2018 team: Cleveland Browns

The Dolphins are expected to move on from Ryan Tannehill and draft a quarterback this year. That leaves an opening for a veteran quarterback to either start or to mentor the rookie — something Taylor is familiar with after his season in Cleveland. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Dolphins have interest in the 29-year-old.

But surprisingly, Taylor landed with the Chargers, where he’ll reunite with Anthony Lynn:

Source: The #Chargers agreed to terms with QB Tyrod Taylor on a 2-year deal.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2019

Earl Thomas, S

2018 team: Seattle Seahawks

Thomas, a Texas native, has been linked to the Cowboys ever since becoming disillusioned with his place on the Seahawks’ spending sheet. He may not be able to earn what he feels he’s worth in Dallas, either. The Athletic’s Calvin Watkins reports a Cowboys’ source doesn’t see the team as more than “bargain shoppers” when it comes to the All-Pro safety.

Watkins also confirmed that the Cowboys met with Thomas’ representatives at the scouting combine, to gauge what kind of contract Thomas is looking for. With Dallas already dropping $3.5 million to $5 million on Jason Witten and with big extensions for Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott looming, the franchise may not be able to afford the All-Pro safety:

Let’s clear this up now. A source tells @TheAthleticDFW Cowboys have no interest in Earl Thomas or Landon Collins. The financial price is too steep. This isn’t new news. Now Cowboys also have no interest in Eric Weddle either. Price is everything.

— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) March 6, 2019

Thomas could get the mega-deal for which he’s been looking, if a saturated safety market allows it:

I said “rumored to be” but can now confirm, at least in the market of 14M or more a year, per source. He wants to beat S Eric Berry’s number which is roughly 13M a year https://t.co/uj7ntUHI7L

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 11, 2019

Following Tyrann Mathieu’s signing with the Chiefs, the Texans were sniffing around Thomas. But they’re out of the bidding after signing Tashaun Gipson.

There was talk about Thomas joining the wave in Cleveland, but that’s not going to happen. He is coming to the AFC North, however: Thomas signed a big-money contract with the Ravens.

Jason Verrett, CB

2018 team: Los Angeles Chargers

The former first-rounder, but oft-injured, Verrett is getting some attention on the open market. He has visits lined up with the 49ers, Texans, and Chiefs. He ended up staying in California on a one-year deal with the 49ers.

Eric Weddle, S

2018 team: Baltimore Ravens

In one of 2019’s more surprising cuts, the Ravens got out of the Eric Weddle business. The veteran defensive back put together another strong season at age 33 last fall, earning a Pro Bowl berth and rating out as Pro Football Focus’s 10th-rated safety. It didn’t take him long to draw interest elsewhere.

Three days after his release, Weddle agreed to a two-year deal with the Rams worth up to $12.5 million.

Tyrell Williams, WR

2018 team: Los Angeles Chargers

Following four seasons with the Chargers, Williams will play for a new team in 2019. He could’ve found himself in the AFC North, considering the Browns and Steelers are both interested in his services.

But he’ll stay on the West Coast:

Former Chargers’ WR Tyrell Williams intends to sign with the Oakland Raiders, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2019

K.J. Wright, LB

2018 team: Seattle Seahawks

The veteran middle linebacker is staying in Seattle.

And now that I just woke up and saw the message and reached out, Wright adds in another text, “it’s a “2-year deal worth up to $15M.” https://t.co/554Y34JiXe

— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 14, 2019

Trade rumors

Odell Beckham Jr., WR

2018 team: New York Giants

Persistent rumors that Beckham could be traded are a little odd considering he received a lengthy extension from the Giants just before the 2018 season began. But Jay Glazer told The Athletic he believes the receiver will get dealt before the 2019 season gets started.

It was real enough that the Browns reportedly went to the Giants with a trade offer of Kevin Zeitler, Emmanuel Ogbah and one more player. The Giants laughed at the offer, according to NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala. That hasn’t kept the team from continuing to shop its All-Pro wideout as the official start to free agency approaches and at least one team is still reaching out:

Via @JosinaAnderson on NFL LIVE: there is an AFC North team that as recently as today continues to inquire on Odell Beckham, Jr.'s availability and discussions have remained ongoing.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 12, 2019

Perhaps it’s the Browns again?

I’m, uh, receiving some texts pic.twitter.com/TQfsTICwYs

— Jordan Zirm (@clevezirm) March 12, 2019

All this smoke doesn’t necessarily mean a fire, though.

“Everything that I have heard has been consistent that they are not looking to trade Odell Beckham Jr.,” NFL Network’s Kimberly Jones reported Tuesday. “I believe they want him in the fold. They know they’re better with him on the field. Would two No. 1 picks do it? Perhaps. But there doesn’t seem to be a team lining up with that kind of mega-offer.”

Oh wait, never mind. Because it DID happen. OBJ got traded to the Browns.

Michael Bennett, DE

2018 team: Philadelphia Eagles

Soon after signing Brandon Graham to an extension, the Eagles sent feelers out to the league about Bennett. The veteran defensive end has a $7.2 million cap hit for 2019.

Bennett told NFL Network that not only would he not be willing to take a pay cut, but that he actually wants a raise. That meant that Bennett likely wouldn’t be back with the Eagles, whether that be a release or a trade.

It was the Patriots that stepped up to get the deal done. The trade is expected to move the Eagles up from the seventh-round to the fifth-round in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Eric Berry, S

2018 team: Kansas City Chiefs

The writing is probably on the wall for Berry. The safety has missed 29 games the past two seasons, and the Chiefs signed Tyrann Mathieu in free agency. But it’s still possible the Chiefs trade Berry rather than release him. And guess who has an open spot at safety?

Hearing rumors that John Dorsey and Browns could be making a play to pluck Eric Berry out of Kansas City. Normally I'd ignore those rumors, but after the events of last night, this is another one I'll be keeping an eye on.

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) March 13, 2019

However, the Chiefs ended up releasing Berry.

Antonio Brown, WR

2018 team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Brown’s tumultuous tenure in Pittsburgh appears to be on its last legs after he formally requested a trade this winter. Now the Steelers are fielding offers and preparing to turn the team’s receiving corps over to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

After originally ruling out AFC North rivals and the New England Patriots as trade partners, Colbert now appears willing to trade Brown to any team willing to meet his asking price.

The Saints and Raiders are two clubs that cropped up on the horizon as the Steelers embark on their journey to trade Brown. ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports the market has shrunk down to one club that’s willing to meet the Steelers’ asking price.

Interesting take on Antonio Brown market from a league source, as of early this morning (in their opinion): "one team race...I think the other teams decided the price was too high."

— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 6, 2019

The Buffalo Bills came close to landing Brown, but the deal never happened:

A statement from GM Brandon Beane. pic.twitter.com/GK8wMqFTCA

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) March 8, 2019

Just over a day later, Brown finally got what he wanted and was traded to the Raiders, who are making him the league’s highest-paid receiver again.

Derek Carr, QB

2018 team: Oakland Raiders

Is Jon Gruden ready to find his own handpicked franchise quarterback? Maybe:

Hearing the Raiders were shopping Derek Carr at the NFL Combine

— Master (@MasterTes) March 2, 2019

The Raiders have three first-round picks, including the fourth overall selection, if there’s a quarterback they like in this draft class.

Dee Ford, DE

2018: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs used their franchise tag on Ford, but they’ve been open to trading their 2014 first-round pick. If a trade partner didn’t emerge, he’d stay in Kansas City and play 2019 under the tag. The Packers and 49ers have both expressed interest in the pass rusher, and the 49ers worked out a deal to land Ford.

Marcus Gilbert, RT

2018 team: Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers put Gilbert on the block alongside Antonio Brown. But the Gilbert deal got done first; the right tackle was sent to Arizona:

Steelers OT Marcus Gilbert traded to the Cardinals, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2019

It’s gonna be a busy offseason in Pittsburgh.

Justin Houston, LB

2018 team: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs would have liked to keep their Pro Bowl pass rusher around, but at a cap hit of $21.1 million and with Dee Ford now earning a franchise tag salary of more than $15 million, the 30-year-old will have to find a new home this offseason. Kansas City had engaged in trade talks with multiple teams regarding his availability, but no suitors emerged and the expensive pass rusher ended up getting released.

Jordan Howard, RB

2018 team: Chicago Bears

The Bears running back was a Pro Bowler as a rookie, but only averaged 3.7 yards per carry in 2018. Now, he might be on the trading block heading into the final season of his rookie deal.

According to Adam Schefter, multiple teams have reached out to the Bears about a deal for Howard. Discussions are reportedly “ongoing.”

DeSean Jackson, WR

2018 team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

ESPN reports the Bucs are shopping Jackson, who would prefer to get dealt to the team that drafted him: the Eagles. It’s also possible Tampa Bay cuts Jackson instead of trading him. In either situation, a return to receiver-needy Philadelphia is possible.

The problem is that the trade market for Jackson reportedly isn’t strong and it may be in the Bucs’ best interest just to keep the receiver on the team.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not finding any takers in a trade for DeSean Jackson. I’m told for now... the plan is to keep him on the roster. Key words “for now”

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 11, 2019

In the end, a trade back to Philadelphia turned out to be the best solution for each side.

Tampa it was a great experience, but things didn’t work out !! Looking forward to my next destination .. Stay Tuned #0ne0fone https://t.co/dNsVXC3RMZ

— Desean Jackson (@DeSeanJackson11) March 11, 2019

Duke Johnson, RB

2018: Cleveland Browns

In February, the Browns signed Kareem Hunt (even though they didn’t have to). Despite Hunt facing a lengthy suspension, the Browns have a crowded running backs room, with 2018 rookie Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson. That leaves Johnson as the odd man out. He is reportedly being shopping and getting some interest from other teams, including the Eagles.

Case Keenum, QB

2018 team: Denver Broncos

Washington is reportedly finalizing a deal that will involve a swap of late-round selections in the 2020 NFL Draft for Keenum. Essentially, the Broncos will get nothing for the quarterback, but they will move most of the money owed to the passer off the books. Washington will get a cheap veteran to step in as the starter with Alex Smith expected to miss the 2019 season due to a broken leg.

Emmanuel Ogbah, DE

2018 team: Cleveland Browns

The Browns might not be done making moves. This time, they might be trading away a player rather than acquiring one:

Browns are now shopping former defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah after acquiring Olivier Vernon, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2019

Robet Quinn, DE

2018 team: Miami Dolphins

Miami’s bottoming-out in 2019 now likely includes trading away Quinn, a prized trade acquisition for the Dolphins just a year ago. Dallas could be his destination of choice; he was seen touring the Cowboys’ facilities March 19.

Josh Rosen, QB

2018 team: Arizona Cardinals

Rosen is less than a year removed from being the 11th pick in the NFL Draft, but with new head coach Kliff Kingsbury entirely enamored with Kyler Murray, his time in Arizona may be short. He’s reportedly on the trading block, but it’s unclear just what the Cardinals can recoup for him after a rough rookie campaign as the centerpiece of a talent-starved offense.

The Cardinals reportedly rebuffed offers for Rosen at the combine. Whether or not that resistance holds true through the 2019 draft is another story. There’s at least one team interested:

#Giants would explore a trade for Cardinals QB Josh Rosen if he is made available, per ESPN.

— Ryan Field (@RyanFieldABC) March 14, 2019

John Ross, WR

2018 team: Cincinnati Bengals

Ross isn’t a free agent, but the player Cincinnati spent the ninth overall pick on in 2017 is reportedly available via trade.

Two years ago, top WR prospect John Ross set fire to the Combine with his 40 time. Now, sources say the #Bengals are shopping their former first rounder. A fresh start would be welcome by both parties, sounds like.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 26, 2019

It’s unclear just what he’d command from other teams after recording only 21 receptions in his first two seasons as a pro. A fresh start could be a boon for the oft-injured deep threat, but nothing in his Bengals tenure suggests he’ll be able to live up to the lofty expectations of his first-round pedigree.

The Bears have reportedly shown interest, while the Bengals are denying that they’re shopping Ross.

Ryan Tannehill, QB

2018 team: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins kicked the tires on Teddy Bridgewater, and the Saints were expected to make a run at Tannehill.

Orrrrr, maybe they weren’t:

Source on the possibility of the Saints signing Ryan Tannehill: "No way."

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 13, 2019

It didn’t end up mattering. Tannehill’s career in Miami is over, but he wasn’t released as expected. He was traded to the Titans to back up Marcus Mariota.

Olivier Vernon, EDGE

2018 team: New York Giants

Vernon was New York’s prized $85 million signing in 2016, but he may not see out the end of his contract with the club. The Giants were reportedly listening to trade offers on the impactful pass rusher in hopes of recouping the young assets that can lead a rebuild in northern New Jersey.

In the end, they got a deal done with the Browns. In return, the Giants are getting guard Kevin Zeitler.

[newstfionline]

These presidents all said they were going to change America. How’d that work out?

By Joel Achenbach, Washington Post, January 18, 2017

Twenty-four years ago, William Jefferson Clinton promised change.

“Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time,” the 42nd president said in his first inaugural address. “Well, my fellow Americans, this is our time.”

He had been echoing Jefferson promiscuously for days. Jefferson had won the first “change election” in American history, in 1800--federalists out, “republicans” in--and now Clinton had ended 12 years of Republican occupation of the White House. He had journeyed to Washington from Monticello, recreating Jefferson’s trip 191 years earlier, this time in a bus with a license plate reading “Hope 1.”

His predecessor had been a heroic World War II pilot, part of the Greatest Generation. Clinton was a boomer. The Cold War was over, and Clinton vowed to focus on domestic issues, boost the economy, help the middle class, reinvent government and provide universal health care while balancing the budget and just in general being transformational.

Then came reality. “Dramatic change” in Washington is hard to come by--as Clinton and just about every other “change” candidate has learned.

Donald Trump vowed to drain the swamp of Washington, but here’s a different metaphor: It’s a fortress, with moats, drawbridges, hidden passageways, secret tunnels, dungeons. Outsiders struggle to master the place. Among the impediments to change is the Constitution. It fetishizes the distribution of power. Members of Congress take seriously the notion that they’re part of an equal branch of government. Supreme Court justices and federal judges have life tenure. The president’s own turf, the executive branch, is a bureaucracy staffed by civil servants who do not always jump on command.

And so, although the president of the United States may be the most powerful figure in the world, we recall what Harry Truman said when Dwight Eisenhower was about to succeed him: “He’ll sit here, and he’ll say, ‘Do this! Do that!’ And nothing will happen. Poor Ike--it won’t be a bit like the Army.”

The job of a president today is something that Jefferson could not have recognized when he took the oath in 1801. At the time, the federal government was tiny, and Jefferson vowed to downsize it further, including reductions in the Army and Navy. He wound up nearly doubling the size of the nation, via the Louisiana Purchase, and he pushed a trade embargo that set the stage for the War of 1812. Sometimes presidents change things in ways they don’t intend.

A populist down on bankers. Andrew Jackson was the most prominent change candidate of the first half of the 19th century. He was a populist who ran against the Eastern bankers and ended the grip on the presidency of the Adams family and the Virginia planters. His 1829 inauguration was marked by a wild White House party in which inebriated supporters--a drunken mob, as some saw it--drank whiskey-laden punch and broke china and furniture. Jacksonian democracy had arrived, though for Native Americans it led to the Trail of Tears, and Jackson’s battle against the banks led to economic chaos and eventually, soon after he left office, the depression known as the Panic of ‘37.

Nothing brought change to America so dramatically as the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, which triggered secession, civil war, emancipation, the Constitutional prohibition of slavery, and a new beginning for the nation in which the words “the United States” would generally be treated as a singular rather than a plural. Some 750,000 Americans died in the war, and Lincoln was fated to be the final casualty.

Change didn’t always require an election. Teddy Roosevelt, just 42 years old, took the oath after William McKinley died from gunshot wounds. The energetic young president co-opted the press corps and used the presidency’s “bully pulpit” to do battle with monopolists and robber barons and push a progressive agenda.

Every modern change-agent president labors in the long shadow cast by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his first hundred days in office. But the conditions that enabled the passage of FDR’s New Deal were unique. He took the oath of office at the nadir of the Great Depression. Banks were locking their doors. Unemployment stood at 25 percent. Communism and fascism had taken hold in Europe, and the survival of democracy was in doubt. Some pundits called for FDR to assume dictatorial powers. Stasis was not an option.

“FDR was able to accomplish what he did in the first hundred days only because the Great Depression was rewriting the rules of the game,” says Margaret O’Mara, a historian at the University of Washington.

The Democrats won five straight presidential elections until Dwight Eisenhower captured the White House in 1952. Ike never proclaimed himself a change agent. The New Deal survived.

“What Eisenhower was most brilliant at was bureaucracy. He knew when to threaten, he knew when to pull out, he knew when to bring in outsiders,” said Heather Cox Richardson, a historian at Boston College.

Kennedy’s chilling vision. Then came John F. Kennedy and a generational change. In his inaugural address, he offered a chilling vision of a nation and a civilization on the eve of destruction. Nuclear holocaust now seemed a plausible fate.

“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life,” Kennedy said. He spoke of “the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science,” and “mankind’s final war,” and the “hour of maximum danger.” It was scary stuff.

His point, says Larry Sabato, director of tnhjhjjjjhe Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, was that he would be just as tough on communism as any Republican. Kennedy flexed his muscles as a Cold Warrior and, just a few months into his term, approved the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba--a complete fiasco. The young president had to learn on the job.

Kennedy’s assassination put Lyndon Johnson in the White House. Johnson’s mastery of the Washington political machinery is unmatched in modern times, and after his landslide 1964 victory he succeeded in advancing his Great Society agenda of social programs and civil rights laws. LBJ showed what an aggressive president coupled with a friendly Congress can do. “The presidency is a battering ram,” writes historian Stephen Skowronek in his book “The Politics Presidents Make.”

That aggression proved LBJ’s undoing, however. He fully owned America’s escalation in Vietnam, and as the war revealed itself to be a tragic quagmire, he lost public support and went on prime-time television to say he would not seek reelection.

That led to a change in party control of the White House. Richard Nixon had vowed that he, personally, had changed since his younger days. He was “the new Nixon.” In his first inaugural address he called for political harmony.

“To lower our voices would be a simple thing,” Nixon said.

Voices, however, were not lowered, and not simply because the Vietnam War dragged on for years. Nixon had a deep flaw in his temperament: insecurity, which expressed itself as resentment and paranoia. His White House became a dark place of dirty tricks, slush funds, an enemies list and “plumbers” to plug news leaks.

William Safire, a Nixon aide, later wrote a book that described Nixon as a layer cake. Formal on top. Below that a progressive. Below that a poker player. “Under that is the hater, the impugner of motives, the man who claims he is not angry with the press because he cannot be angry with somebody he does not respect.”

Watergate destroyed Nixon’s presidency and serves as an enduring lesson that character matters.

‘Their time has run out.’ When Jimmy Carter ran for president in 1976, he embraced his status as outsider: “The insiders have had their chance and they have not delivered. And their time has run out.”

His inaugural message was high-minded, bordering on moralizing. He talked of “the spiritual strength” and the “moral strength” of the nation, and the obligation to take on “moral duties.” In his inaugural parade, he and the first lady surprised everyone by getting out of their armored limousine and walking on Pennsylvania Avenue. He was just Jimmy, a peanut farmer from Georgia--a dramatic change in presidential style.

But as soon as he entered the White House, he alienated Democrats in Congress by going after their pork-barrel projects. He didn’t think he needed a chief of staff, and so day to day, Carter micromanaged, overconfident in his ability to study every issue, read every report. Things went south in the coming years: gas lines, soaring inflation, the Iran hostage crisis, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Carter beat back a Democratic primary challenge from liberal hero Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, but on election night 1980 Carter was buried in the Ronald Reagan landslide.

Historians say Reagan came closest among modern presidents to matching FDR’s success in changing Washington. Though vowing revolution, Reagan was also a pragmatist. He picked his rival George H.W. Bush (who was ultra-establishment) as his running mate, and installed as his first chief of staff Bush’s campaign chairman, James A. Baker.

Reagan was, as historian Richard Reeves put it, a “clean-desk man,” sticking to a 9-to-6 work schedule with a lunch break upstairs with the first lady and, often, a nap. He ran Cabinet meetings that often ended with the directive, “You fellas work it out.”

In his first inaugural address Reagan had decried deficit spending: “For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children’s future for the temporary convenience of the present.”

And then he proved to be the biggest deficit spender since FDR. Reagan pushed through a large tax cut and a huge boost in military spending. Deficits soared to levels not seen since World War II. But he didn’t pay a political price for that and won reelection in another landslide.

The ‘New Democrat.’ After Reagan, the word “liberal” became a pejorative. When Bill Clinton won the presidency, he did so by running as a “New Democrat,” a triangulator, renouncing old-school Democratic tax-and-spend policies. Clinton’s goal of “dramatic change” fell victim to Republican intransigence and his own lack of professional and personal discipline. And a more subtle change was also afoot: The political parties had become more ideologically consistent and, thus, more polarized.

Clinton took office with an economic stimulus plan, but he could never get it through the Senate. His push for universal health care failed spectacularly. His successful proposals skewed conservative, and he lamented to his staff that they had become Eisenhower Republicans. After learning early on that Congress had put limitations on new spending, he exploded with frustration.

“I won’t have a goddamn Democratic budget until 1996!” Clinton fumed, according to a memoir by his labor secretary, Robert Reich. “Education, job training--none of the things I campaigned on. What’ll I be able to tell the average working person I did for him?”

The Democrats were clobbered in the midterm election, losing the House for the first time in 40 years. For Clinton, that was the wrong kind of change.

Barack Obama made change the central theme of his 2008 presidential bid, saying in his convention speech, “Change happens--change happens because the American people demand it, because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. America, this is one of those moments.”

And change did happen, as he became the first African American in the White House, coming into office with high approval ratings in the midst of the Great Recession. Republican leaders in Congress chose the path of obstruction. Obama’s successful legislative efforts relied almost exclusively on Democratic votes, and as Democrats lost power on the Hill, he resorted to executive orders--actions that can be wiped out with the stroke of a pen. Some of Obama’s signature achievements could prove to be ephemeral.

Every presidency is unique and unscripted, except for the oath of office, unchanged since it was written in 1787--Article II, Section One of the Constitution. Obama in 2009 had to take the oath twice because both he and the chief justice flubbed it the first time.

History isn’t predictive, but it’s a guide. One broad lesson is something Obama said he learned only after he arrived in the White House:

“The federal government and our democracy is not a speedboat,” Obama said. “It’s an ocean liner.”

[caeliri]

Better Late - pt. II

Guilt made her pen dig deeper into the parchment, and even as she wrote her eyes shifted away to the stack of letters that sat nearby. There were many that had gone unanswered, all personal, all put aside in favor of duty, and now her cheeks turned scarlet as she stared at them. Beside them sat the Greenseer’s ( @lissanaria) gift, still settled in it’s box to keep it steeped in the magic that kept it lush. Find a victim, she suggested, and alone in her suite Caeliri tittered a little laugh, knowing there were those who did not need the excuse to steal her lips - they made excuses of their own, and they were a wild as they were varied, and often plied. Silencing her awkward laughter, she penned a letter to try and make up for those she hadn’t sent. It would not arrive with her gift - no god on Azeroth, for the many they had, was good enough to make that happen when the gif had been sent in advance, but with any luck they’d arrive close enough together for logic to link them.

Whether days before or days after or perhaps not in days at all but weeks a large gift would make its arrival at Shael’thas Lair. In the form of nine large, wrapped canvases, the figures depicted within the blurry, dream-like landscapes were familiar if not perhaps too touched by fantasy. With only the locket she’d borrowed months before as reference for the painter she’d hired, and the vague suggestions and memories she’d plucked from the lady’s mind here and there in the months following, Caeliri had commissioned images of Cere’thien and her twin in their youth. Some scenes were those the lady had recalled in vagaries - a rather scandalous image of the twins on either side of a partition, clearly well into their adolescence by the nature of the underpinnings both on their half-nude forms and strewn about the space, trading clothing over it’s top to swap identities, and a much more innocent image of the twins atop their father’s shoulders, their small forms nearly indistinguishable from each other - and some were entirely fantasized - such as the image of the lady’s brother poised and charming and trying his best to flirt with a gaggle of women while, just behind him, his sister stood with an arrow ready and aimed right for his ass - but all were rendered in a style that was impressionistic and colorful. Nine in total, they ranged from the size of the lady herself to something more suited for being settled on a desk.

The only note attached to them was, “With Love, Caeliri”, and the the locket that she’d kept for months at last returned - a rather underwhelming note that didn’t detail the young dame’s intentions or thought process at the time of their commissioning. With luck, this letter would serve to better illuminate her often… odd affections.

Lady Blackwood,

I doubt there are apologies sufficient for my silence the last few months; we’ve only seen each other fleetingly and in official capacities, and for that I have no excuse worth giving. My time is spent fractured in a thousand different directions, and it’s preferable to lingering on my troubles. Your warning not to overdo myself is appreciated, but I fear there is no alternative; stopping only serves to swell my thoughts until they require attentions, but with no solutions for the sources of my troubles --

She stopped, half-way through, and twirled her pen between her fingers. There was something else to be said, something to be attended, but it rankled the aches and sickness inside of her, and it took great effort to pen the next few lines, however short they were;

I had not known before your letter that you delivered your twins, so I should offer you congratulations. I am thankful they are healthy. I will see to the Oracle as she allows me - she has seemed well thus far, though, from all I have seen of her.

With any luck, you’ve already received my present, and your locket has been returned to you. I had intended for these to be commemorate your nine-hundredth birthday this past summer, but given the state of my health then, fate saw fit to make that an impossibility. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy them - some are… perhaps less suited for public showing, but your estates have many rooms, and plenty of them are private; I’m sure they’ll find a place somewhere on your walls.

Be well, until next we meet. Give the young Lords my love.

Dame Caeliri Dawnsworn

There. It was done. Caeliri shoved the letter away as if it might rise up and bite back at her, curling her fingers into her palm tightly as she watched the parchment flutter away. She should not have felt the way she did - jealous, angry, bereft, betrayed - and yet, those emotions were there. Once, she’d thought them long gone, all trace of wickedness and shadow inside of her replaced, but time had only dulled the pain, not made it disappear, and the wound on her heart could still be pressed and prodded and made to ache. ‘I will never know peace’, she’d told the Highlord when their engagement had been retracted - and it was true, it seemed.

Throat tight, she turned her eyes away from the letter - she would commit it to an envelope later - and perused the gifts that still needed her attention. She needed something light -- something fun -- something --

Taliori Dewblossom’s ( @pyrar) gift was fun. And in multiple boxes, for added intrigue.

Grace had already devoured all of the nuts and berries the tiny monk had sent for her, and the tie she’d given Caeliri was nestled in amongst her others, part of her daily rotation now. In return, Caeliri had done her best to offer what gifts she thought the small, energetic woman would like; a box of chewy, peach candies from the Redveil Candy Emporium - with a business card and directions to the shop based out of the Row, of course - a pair of leather boots that laced up the front with high, high heels so the small woman could falsify an inch or two of height, and the last, she thought, the monk might like best. It was not safe for a phoenix on a ship, and as Taliori had said herself, keeping animals was hard when food stores were low and times were tough, so instead, Caeliri offered an alternative - a stuffed phoenix, about the size of a teddy bear, which when left in sunlight during the day would give off a soft, golden glow at night. The letter that went with the gifts was short, and sweet -

Taliori,

Thank you for the gifts - Grace has already gorged herself on all the nuts and berries you sent, and is merrier than I’ve ever seen her. Your hair tie is going to be helpful - I’ve got a lot of hair to keep out of my face, and you know how hard it is. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy these just as much as Grace and I have enjoyed your gifts - carefully not to drop the phoenix off the edge of the ship when you leave him out in the sunlight.

Caeliri

That box she set with another, Vaelrin’s ( @forever-afk) second gift - she trusted the man would have an easier time getting a gift to Taliori than she would. After all, the woman was near his family too, and part of his crew.

Caeliri’s real gift to him still stalked his suite on tiny, soundless paws that did nothing to aid in stealth - because the kitten was loud and demanding when he wanted attention, and his cry was shrill and carried far. More nights than she could count she’d heard him through the open balcony window, mewling loudly at the man who was too consumed in his paperwork to pay him mind. Insistent and eager also for affection, the kitten never stopped, not until his master took him up into his lap and let him knead at his thighs while he worked. The kitten was, by ever imagining, the perfect replacement for her; he’d keep the Ranger-Captain company when she at last made her move to Summerglen.

That thought drew the warmth from her smile. Summerglen was a beautiful province, nestled in the northern reaches of the Dawnspire in the arms of loose-laid flower fields and heavy set woods. It was quaint and quiet and full of potential, full of minute problems that needed attention and though she loved the challenge… it was thousands of miles from Shallowbrook, from home, almost on the opposite coast of Quel’thalas. When she’d brought the man to Summerglen with her --

Her spine was wracked with shivers, and Caeliri turned her attention to the gift that lay waiting for her letter and transport. Made of dark, braided leather, the collar bore a blank, silver nameplate that hung tight against its circumference. It may have glimmered, but it did not dangle, and should the kitten ever learn to hold his tongue, it would aid him in being as silent as his master.

The note affixed was simple, swiftly written, and playful;

Vaelrin

I left the collar blank for when you name him. Consider this your friendly reminder - he still needs a name. Unlike a horse, kittens come better when they’re called by a name. If it pleases you, perhaps you could name him Caeliri, after your best and most favorite friend! Or maybe Fuzz or Riptide or Shadow or Howler or Storm would be better!

There’s no place in letters for the words I have for you, and you hear them often enough, so - Happy Winter’s Veil, Vaelrin. Next year will be better, I swear to you.

Love always, Caeliri

She flexed her toes - still tight and aching- and grimaced as she rose again. It was less difficult, this time, to cross the room, even if her foot protested any chosen path. 

Beyond her door the hallway was still and quiet, and it took less than five seconds to side step to the next suite over where the Ranger-Captain stayed. Without knocking, her hand fell to the knob, to test the gilded swirl for give - it did not. Unlike her, the man was keen to lock his door before he left for the day. Scrunching her nose at the door, as if she could bid it open with a baleful look alone, Caeliri settled for leaving the boxes - the one for him, and the one for Taliori - on the floor just before the door. There was no fear it would be stolen; the hotel they stayed in was one of the richest in Dalaran, a place meant only for the most posh and prim of high society. Petty thievery was beneath them.

 Caeliri spun on her heel and hobbled back into her room, closing the door quietly behind her - several presents down, so many more to go.

[mechagalaxy]

John T Mainer 28840: Legion of Vega

Legion of Vega

I was on Vega brokering a deal to sell some of the garbage the Spirit of Bunny got on their last raid. Apparently fighting evil energy sucking stormclouds gives you crap for loot. Weathermen don't retire rich, I guess that was one of the reasons I became a pilot in the first place, I didn't want to do honest work, I wanted to shoot bad guys for beer money and shiny shiny loot. There was little danger of any of that on Vega. Vega is a desert world, one of the wind swept hell worlds of the Prince Of Iron's Meiji Shogunate. Settled by Islamist Fundamentalists, they got nuked back to the stone age by one of the early Emperors for an assassination attempt, and only rebuilt partially when the nuking clean up revealed some nasty heavy metals useful in biopic production were discovered, and crystal farming proved to be the one thing that Vega's high radiation atmosphere and almost total lack of surface water was good for.

Vega had been a bright spot for the Shogunate during the war against the Illyrian's, but had fallen into disfavor when the garrison sided with the Prince of Flowers in the late civil war, and the once proud 11th and 14th Legions of Vega were disbanded. The scum soldiers of the Legions of Vega had been an open joke, a dumping ground for criminals, stim addicts, discipline cases, burnouts, and political dissidents, yet when the Illyrians attacked the border, and world after world fell, the father of the current Emperor, the famous/infamous Teddy K, lead the 11th in their doomed stand, and the 14th in their epic war to take back not just Vega, but to drive into the Illyrian border worlds and gut the supply chain for the whole invasion. Since the civil war, they had been without anything but local corporate troops and Internal Security Force security troops. With the increase in pirate and Storm linked activity the governor of Vega, the vastly and cheerfully corrupt "Uncle Chandy" had been authorized to raise a defense force if he could equip it out of his own (cheerfully lined) pockets.

Thus, some of the elite of Mecha Galaxy were gathered on a world that made Arakis look like a vacation spa, that made Pirate Moon look law abiding, and made camels sick of sand. Uncle Chandy was a fat, happily decadent and corrupt man whose vast appetites were only exceeded by his intellect and a strange, almost inexplicable desire, to serve the Shogunate's best interests, whether they knew or approved or not. He was so openly shifty he had three boxes on his desk labeled clearly "Bribes" "Blackmail" "Payoffs", they were all full. One thing Uncle Chandy had oddly never once been accused of, is breaking a deal. Win or lose on a deal, he paid in good coin. Thus it was a few of us were gathered on Vega trying to offload some low level gear, crap crystal mecha, weapons you could possibly bother a rat with if he hadn't been eating well lately, and some decent gear we just couldn't afford to level up.

Uncle Chandy was a generous host, and plied us with all sorts of comforts when we were not negotiating, but when we were, he took a duelists delight in a close match and permitted no distractions, so negotiations were not swift. The first reports of storm disruption of the gates were drifting in to us through our own private networks. If we hadn't been busy trying to out outmaneuver each other, and treating each other as enemies, we might have compared notes and been able to get our asses out of there before it went sideways. We didn't. We each had a report of disruption of some of he gates, we each had reports of raiders hitting some adjacent worlds. If we would have compared notes, we could have summoned our own clans to deal with it before we got cut off. Uncle Chandy, well, he had all of it, and played us like the master gamesman he was.

I was sitting in the waiting room, a scantily clad hostess was plying me with some sort of candied fig while I waited to finalize the sale on a half dozen Cindron when Lewis Reed my Logistics Officer burst in.

"Boss, we got trouble. The gate network is down hard. Something has scrambled all the access routines and we have zero contact with base. From the bit that I got, all the teams are reporting the same. They can't get offworld, and we have over thirty percent of our personnel in all Clans isolated or trapped away from support. We also have word of Deneb and Misery falling. Unknown raiders, not pirates, way too big. Not a raid, they took Deneb's main city and shut down the spaceport and the gate complex both"

I just about choked on my fig. Deneb is a sector capital and well defended. Misery is another hell world, but its an ice ball. To be brutally honest, the only export of Misery is misery....and ice. The water to keep Vega alive came on the ice ships from Misery weekly. With the gates down, the fall of Misery meant we were trapped on Vega with no water, in the sure and certain knowledge that the world that should be enforcing order in this section of space just got conquered by "forces unknown". This was not good.

I swore under my breath. I had to see Uncle Chandy right away and see about trading our Cindron's for one of his ships to get offworld while we still could. I wished for the first time that I had brought the clan in a Warship not taken commercial transport through the gate system. I approached Uncle Chandy's door to see about interrupting his current meeting when I heard voices inside.

"Not on your life, no frigging way. Only a lunatic would agree to that, I don't care what you are paying! That is suicide!" I stopped, my hand about two inches from the call plate on the door. I swear I recognized that voice. The door opened and a hard bitten pilot with a angry scowl just about barreled into me.

It was Able Hunter. He took the cigar out of his mouth where it was being chewed more than smoked in his current rage and jabbed it in my direction. He turned back and shouted one more time at Uncle Chandy before pushing past me and leaving.

"Try that idiot. He is just stupid enough to volunteer to commit suicide for this sand covered crap-hole!"

Uncle Chandy was full of smiles and took my arm and lead me to a nice massage chair in front of his massive desk. Easing himself into his own larger version, two of his many semi-dressed assistants settled glasses of melon soda over ice in front of us. He kept up a constant and happy babble of nonesense and routine Japanese politeness to prevent me from getting to business until he could raise his glass to offer a toast.

"To the glory of the Emperor, the safety of his children, and our own mutual benefit. A drink, and some of the last ice of Misery unless someone of experience and standing undertakes the defense of this world. Sadly, there is no way off this world save the Kigamure, which is reserved to trasport the troops of the Legion of Vega for the defense of this world. Sadly, that is by order of the Prince of Iron, and your humble servant could never oppose the will of the Son of Heaven or his war prince." Uncle Chandy's smile was a mix of the beneficence of Buddha, and cold hunger of the great white shark.

I took a sip of my drink, and considered his words.

"If we don't get off this world, you will run out of water faster" I attempted

He spread his hands, and replied "A hundred or two foreigners more or less won't make a difference when two million of my problem children run out of water, yet with a strong military expedition to restore our water supply and to guarantee our defense until such time as the gates stabilizer, would not your people and my own both profit?"

I looked into his smiling face and sighed. I nodded. "Fine, I will lead your defense. What can you offer me?"

Uncle Chandy smiled and pushed across a box. I opened it and found a memory crystal, code locked to an individuals DNA and brainwave patterns, and the insignia of a Tai-Sa, along with eight matching Legion of Vega pins. Uncle Chandy was beaming and his voice boomed happily.

"I offer you command of the glorious Legion of Vega, and all its resources for the defense and strategic security of this world and its trade. This includes the Kigamure warship as well as all the mecha and support resources you can raise as volunteers. Yours will be the war against Chaos for the glory of Vega, and the enrichment of your troops. I guarentee that each will receive a mecha commensurate to their own glorious contribution, paid for from my own, considerable pockets" Uncle Chandy's voice dripped happy avarice at the end that made my mercenary soul perk up a bit. The fact was, generosity aside, eight mecha is a crappy basis for defense of a world.

I countered "I want command of the ISF batallion. Sure they are green troops, and used to only dealing with civil disobedience and labour disputes, but a batallion is a batallion. I want command of them as well. They can be meat shields if nothing else" I demanded.

Uncle Chandy's face expressed sorrow like a baby basset hound, and he let his implant depolarize his huge office window. Outside the demonstration of Sal-Eh-Dim was in full force. Marches and even mecha carrying or draped with banners "Boycott Chaos" pressed against the line of ISF troopers and mecha out front of the Vegan capital building.

"It is regrettable that I must retain the ISF batallion to keep order here at home, thanks to the peace activists demand we boycott the Chaos war, even if that means failing to restore the Ice supply from Misery, and everyone on this beautiful world dying" Uncle Chandy showed absolute innocence and an odd belief that this waterless pustule of corruption was indeed a paradise worthy of the blood of a legion, but he wasn't wrong. If we let things stand, this world died. He was going to see us paid, and paid well. In the end, if you are a mercenary mecha jock, you chose this profession because you wanted to kick ass, take names, and yes by the gods, be a hero every once in a while.

I pinned on the insignia, slotted the memory crystal into the reader on my belt and felt it synch with my implants. I activated the Legion command circuit and the call for volunteers went out. By the time I got Lewis from the front office and had him book transport for our mecha to the Legion barracks, so long empty and probably looted dry, I was deeply depressed. No eight random mecha platoons can defend a world. I opened the bay doors and walked in. There was chaos underway as swearing pilots and technicians in a mismatch of coverals and even bad Hawaiian shirts struggled to slot a bewildering array of mecha into empty cradles and other deeply suspicious pilots started undogging the unmarked crates Uncle Chandy sent over that seemed to be brimming with Meiji Shogunate munition marks that I strongly suspect the Shogunate does not know are no longer on its shelves.

I pinged the officers from my implant, wondering who I had, and hoping I wasn't looking at a half dozen third level pilots with nothing heavier than a Warhorse when my implant accepted the response from the Legions officers. I gave a low whistle.

Ben Rail, Terry Cole, Lewis Reed, Stroker Spot, Mike Ehmann, Able Hunter, Myeponym, and me. Son of sand rat, maybe we could defend this world. If I had to take eight platoons and bet the life of a planet that I could take Misery, at least long enough to get the ice ships flowing back to Vega, this would be it.

The rat banner of the Legion of Vega flies again. A dumping ground for the disgraced, despised, and the disposable, they had turned the tide of war before, so perhaps we could do so again. We are the Legion of Vega. We are coming for you.

John T Mainer 28840