#ALSO ADDING FOR JON THAT HE IS AN ANNOUNCER

[m0on-shro0m]

So since we all seem to find that silly Martin “Norris” and silly Jon “Chester” have gotten themselves locked into the internet web- so like-

Digital Statements? More like Digital Circus-

(Please don’t let me be the only one imagining them in TADC for the funnies)

[unmotivatedwrit3r]

One in Eleven Million (final chapter)

damian wayne x reader x jon kent

(A/N): And we have reached the end! Thank you to everyone who has been following this story and I hope the ending was worth the wait. I also wrote at least some of this and the last chapter while delayed at a train station/on the train so any offhand references I make to either of those things are because of the haha.

And happy new year!

Series masterlist can be found here.

warnings: anxiety, train stations, small amount of cursing

wc: ~1400

~~

Jon blinked awake to Damian tapping him on the shoulder. 

“Huh?” 

“We’re almost there,” he said, nodding out the window. Outside, the scenery had changed from the green of Pennsylvania to the cloudy skyscraper city of Gotham. “Alfred’s meeting us at the station. I’ve already asked and he’ll drive them home if they’re comfortable.” 

Jon looked over at you. He couldn’t remember if you or he had fallen asleep first, but he felt privileged that you did at all. Sure, some of it might have been the exhaustion of the last day, but he had a feeling you wouldn’t have fallen asleep if you didn’t trust them to be there and wake you up. Based on your complaints about the station there, there was no way you wanted to end up in Newark. Or New York. 

Jon shook you gently. You opened your eyes, confused, then sat quickly upright. 

“Shit, I fell asleep? I didn’t mean to.”

“If it’s any consolation, so did I,” Jon shrugged. 

“I didn’t mean to miss the last hour,” you argued. 

“Last hour of what?” Damian stood up in the aisle, pulling Jon’s carry-on out from where he’d tucked it in. Jon grabbed his backpack then helped you pull your suitcase upright. 

“Of—thanks Jon—of time left with you guys.” You winced. Maybe that was too honest. Tugging your backpack over your shoulders, you followed Jon towards the exit at the end of the car. Damian stopped at the car door. You braced yourself with your suitcase to avoid toppling over as the train shuddered on the tracks. It really did feel like the plane turbulence from earlier. 

“This stop, Gotham Station,” the loudspeaker declared. One thing airplanes have going for them, you thought, better sound systems. The train’s announcements were barely audible. “Doors will open on the right side of the train. Please watch your step.” Anything further was indecipherable under the burbling of the speaker. 

“Wait, why did you say the last hour?” Jon asked as the three of you took the escalator up to the station's main area. 

“I have no idea how to contact you after this.” You pulled your suitcase over the lip of the escalator with a tug and continued on. Despite the amount of public transportation you’ve taken, Damian seemed to know the station better than you. You followed him as he weaved through the groups of people sprinkled around the area, Jon right behind. 

Damian stopped just outside a side entrance, and you moved around to his other side to avoid blocking the door. Jon followed. 

“We do all have phone numbers,” Damian suggested pulling out his phone. You assumed he was texting whoever was picking up him and Jon. 

“Oh, duh!” 

Jon’s excitement made you smile. The thought had crossed your mind earlier, but you’d dismissed it as a non-starter. You felt a little silly for that now. 

Jon’s phone was already open to a new contact sheet when he handed it to you. You weren’t sure if you’d ever actually given them your last name or if they remembered ever seeing it on your train ticket or boarding pass, but there was bound to be someone between Gotham and Metropolis that shared your first name, so you added it in anyway. Jon took it back from you and started typing. 

Your phone buzzed straightaway. You pulled it out of your pocket, smiling. 

“hi :)” the first message read. It was sent to you and a third number. Then “it’s jon”

“Huh,” you mused, reading it. “I’ve never seen anyone spell it like that before. That’s cool.”

You unlocked your phone, opened it to the group chat, and held it out to Damian. 

“Would you mind? So I don’t misspell your name?”

Damian muttered an assent and took it from you. He returned it with both contacts filled out. 

“Oh, great, thanks.” You chuckled at Jon’s contact. The name, instead of the Jon offered by the initial text, had been filled out as “Jonathan Kent.” Damian’s name, you were proud to say, was spelled the way you imagined it was. The last name was a funny coincidence, you thought, considering he lived in Gotham. 

“Wayne?” You asked, about to make a teasing joke. 

“Like Bruce Wayne, yes.” Damian said, carefully watching your reaction. 

“Like ‘Wayne Enterprises’ Wayne?” He nodded. “Holy shit. Wow, okay, I didn’t expect that. Wow.” You couldn’t read the expression on his face. Some part of you wondered if he was waiting for you to make a comment about his money or his father. 

“Why did you take the train with me?” You asked instead. The concrete was rough beneath your shoes, a noticeable contrast from the smoothness of airport flooring. “You could have easily had someone pick you up. Pick both of you up. So why–?” 

“Because we wanted to,” Jon answered simply. 

“I am not in the habit of making,” Damian hesitated, “friends and then leaving them behind.” 

“Yeah,” Your heart thudded loudly in your chest. “I’m glad we agree on that.” 

An unfamiliar black car pulled up beside you. You took a couple steps back. It was nice, but anything unfamiliar, nice or not, wasn’t worth the risk. 

Damian, on the other hand, moved in closer. He opened the passenger door and said something to the driver then turned back towards you. 

“Do you want us to drop you off at home?”

You hesitated for a moment. Jon was looking hopefully at you. Damian’s “friends” echoed in your head. 

“Yeah,” you agreed. “That would be great.” 

Jon’s face split into a grin. The corner of Damian’s lips quirked up. There was some warm feeling in your chest at the fact that you caught it. You smiled back. 

Alfred Pennyworth, as you learned his name was, stopped the car right outside of your building less than thirty minutes later. 

“I’ll get your suitcase,” Jon offered, hopping out of the car as you collected the rest of your things. 

“Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth.” 

“You are very welcome,” he answered. 

You shut the door behind you, now face to face with Jon. 

“Is a hug okay?” You asked him. “I’m not sure if that’s a thing you do but-“

Jon gives good hugs, you decided immediately. You could feel the weight and warmth of his arms where they circled your shoulders. 

“I’ll text you, okay?” He let go, hands moving to shove in his pockets. “I’ll take a picture of Metropolis when I get home and send it.” 

You smiled at him; there was something concrete to look forward to. Damian came around the back of the car. 

“You’re not a hug person, right?” You asked him. He shrugged. 

“Only for certain people.” 

You nodded, oddly disappointed. Damian opened his arms. 

“Are you sure?” You asked him. He nodded and you let him set the pace, tightening your grip only when he did. Damian was a good hugger too, you realized. You wondered if the older brother you heard of hours ago on the plane and Jon both had something to do with that. 

“You guys know where I live now,” you adjusted your backpack over your shoulder and pulled up the handle on your suitcase. “So come visit sometime, okay?” Your gaze wandered over to Jon. “Well if you’re in town, I guess. Metropolis isn’t exactly walking distance.” 

Jon chuckled. 

“I’m here pretty often.”

Damian scoffed a quiet laugh. 

“We will. And keep in touch.”

“Yeah,” you smiled. “You guys too.”

You gave a final wave before heading into your building. A cloud of melancholy followed you inside. You ignored it, pulling dirty clothes from your suitcase to toss in the hamper before heading to take a shower. 

Hair dripping but finally clean, you flopped onto your bed, reaching for your phone. Three messages were waiting for you. You answered the one from your parent, asking if you’d gotten home safe. The second was an email. You’d deal with that later, after you got some sleep. The third was a picture from Damian. 

He didn’t even make it through my shower, the attached message read. On your screen, Jon was lying on a couch underneath Damian’s large dog. He was fast asleep. 

You laughed and replied, then set your phone down. A nap would definitely throw off your sleep schedule, you knew, but Gotham was nocturnal anyway. You slept the afternoon away.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Jesse Duquette :: @JRDuquette :: Of Inhuman Bandage

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 31, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 01, 2024

Yesterday, from a Harris campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta reporter Tariro Mzezewa noted that the crowd of 10,000 people “was ecstatic. There was chanting, cheering, singing, and dancing for hours in the lead-up to and throughout the event,” Mzezewa wrote today in Slate. 

Mzezewa reported that rapper Megan Thee Stallion told the audience “I know my ladies in the crowd love their body. And if you want to keep loving your body, you know who to vote for,” before performing her hit “Body.” Georgia Democratic politicians showed up in force: voting rights advocate and former state representative Stacey Abrams, senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, state Democratic Party chair Representative  Nikema Williams, and Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens. 

“What you’re seeing is very real,” Mzezewa wrote, and she quoted an attendee who said: “it’s nice to witness history, but getting to be a part of it from the ground up is a whole other level.” Certainly, the grassroots enthusiasm for Harris’s presidential candidacy is palpable. More and more self-identified groups are launching fundraising calls for Harris; yesterday the Latter-day Saints for Harris—Mormons—announced that they, too, are “putting [their] shoulders to the wheel!” Today the executive board of the United Auto Workers also endorsed Harris.

At last night’s event, Vice President Harris noted that Trump has pulled out of the September debate to which he had previously agreed. “Here’s the funny thing about that,” she said. “He won’t debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me,” After hitting the campaign’s refrain that marks MAGA Republican behavior as “weird,” she added to applause: “Well, Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”

Trump did not say it to her face, but today he unloaded spectacularly on three Black female interviewers at a meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago.

When ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott began the interview by quoting a number of his racist statements about Black Americans and asking why, given that history, Black voters should trust him, he lost it. “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” he began. “You don’t even say ‘Hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network.” 

He went on to try to dominate Scott, listing the policies he claimed to have put into place, and to attack the people who organized the event before saying, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. That’s my answer….  And for you to start off a question and answer period…in such a hostile manner, I think it’s a disgrace.”   

As the session began, so it continued, with Trump questioning Harris’s Black identity—while also mispronouncing her name—and warning the attendees that they need “to stop people from invading our country that are…taking Black jobs.” NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor told MSNBC that during the interview, “people were stunned, people were gasping, there were some people who were shouting back at him saying ‘That's a lie!’” Attendees laughed and jeered at Trump throughout the 37-minute session; his handlers made him leave early. 

Scott accurately summed up Trump’s long history of racism, but lately he has been advertising it. In an interview with Fox News Channel personality Laura Ingraham aired last night, Trump said that Harris would be “like a play toy” for world leaders. “They look at her and they say we can’t believe we got so lucky. They’re gonna walk all over her.” “I don’t want to say as to why,” he said to the camera, “but a lot of people understand it.”

It is unlikely that his insults and naked racism will appeal to anyone but his base, making his performance, as Jessica Tarlov put it on the Fox News Channel, “a complete, absolute dumpster fire.” It is possible that Trump has lost the ability to read a room and reassure his audience that he’s a good bet. But it is also possible that Trump cannot bear to see the enthusiasm building behind Harris, not only because of its electoral meaning, but also because it reveals how small his own following is and how much people loathe him.  

Aaron Rupar of Public Notice, who produces wonderful video threads of important events, “put together an 11-minute supercut of Trump angrily self-immolating at the NABJ before his handlers pulled him from the stage.” 

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo analyzed Trump’s meltdown in Chicago this way: “I think we’re getting the first view of imploding Donald Trump as he realizes that what was his for the taking ten days ago is slipping away and he’s likely to go to prison rather than the White House. He [is] being dominated and humiliated by Harris and he’s losing it.” His post after the interview, in which he boasted “[t]he questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!” seemed an attempt to reassert his old pattern of simply declaring things to be true that…aren’t. 

Indeed, one of Trump’s answers to the journalists in Chicago revealed that he cares only about getting elected, rather than governing. It also suggested that his camp is trying to reassure him that his pick of Ohio senator J.D. Vance to be his running mate will not hurt their chances, even as more and more videos of Vance attacking women become public and as he is historically bad in front of television cameras.

Vance has only 18 months of experience in elected office, making him one of the least qualified candidates for vice president in U.S. history. When asked if Vance would be ready “on day one,” to assume the duties of the presidency if necessary, Trump answered a different question altogether, revealing what is uppermost in his mind. “I’ve always had great respect for him…but…historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact, I mean, virtually no impact. You have two or three days where there’s a lot of commotion…and then that dies down and it’s all about the presidential thing. Virtually never has it mattered…. Historically, the choice of a vice president makes no difference.”   

The Harris campaign responded to Trump���s performance by saying: "The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people…. Today's tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump's MAGA rallies this entire campaign,” while “Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans.” 

It urged Trump again to “stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10."

Trump’s petulant fury at the Black journalists today suggests just how dangerous it would be to put him in control of the nation’s law enforcement and military capabilities a second time. We were given a glimpse of how eager he was to turn those capabilities against American citizens in his first term when the Department of Justice today released the report of the department’s inspector general concerning the Trump administration’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C., in summer 2020.

The authors of the report emphasized that they were unable to compel the testimony of officials including then–attorney general William Barr, his chief of staff William Levi, FBI deputy director David Bowdich, and FBI Washington Field Office assistant director in charge Timothy Slater. 

But what they were able to put together even without their information was that, although the protests were largely peaceful, Trump was desperate to get 2,000 federal officers into the area around the White House on June 1, 2020, to increase federal control of the city. To the frustration of the people in charge of the agencies, he could not articulate a mission, only that he wanted 2,000 people around him. With only about 90 officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Marshals Service on hand early on the morning of June 1, Barr told a conference call with Justice Department leadership that  Trump wanted “max strength” on the streets, and to “dominate the streets.” 

Trump then echoed that language in a call with the nation’s governors, saying, “If you don’t dominate your city and your state, they’re [going to] walk away with you. And we’re doing it in Washington, in D.C., we’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before. But you’re going to have total domination.”

Then, the report says, the administration began to prepare to invoke the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that authorizes the president to deploy the U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion. At 4:48 that evening, lawyers from the Office of Legal Counsel, who advise the president, received an email that the president was going to address the nation at 6:00 and that a proclamation invoking the Insurrection Act should be “ready for signing” before then.

Shortly after, additional officers from the Bureau of Prisons—without names on their uniforms because they do not usually wear them, if you remember the concern over those nameless uniforms—arrived at the White House. Barr was in charge of clearing the streets, and ultimately, by about 9:00 he felt things were calm enough that he advised Trump against invoking the Insurrection Act. 

But it was evidently a close thing.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[hopelesswritergall]

Not sure your opinions on Bran Stark, but maybe him falling in love with the reader while they’re assorted into an arranged marriage? He grows jealous and decides he needs to keep you in Winterfell with him, so he does everything he can to make you his despite your oath of marriage to maybe a Lannister?

Or just any Bran Stark x Reader content, I love that man so much 🤭🤭

Yesss darling!! Baby I think I made it GN but if you catched a gender thingy let me know!

Summary: Bran didn’t like Y/N at first, so when their parents announced they were to be betrothed he refused. That hurts. But then Tommen came and he disliked that even more. He would show you that he is better than that bastard.

A/N: I do not follow the original storyline cause yeah no. We don’t do that here on this blog. Also fuck their winters and shit. In this story it’s just all 4 seasons in 1 year. And your house is Greenfield a (non-existing) house which is south of Winterfell and often associated with the Vale and shit.

It’s sort of very long headcanons :)

Tag list: @crownedtargaryen

Let me know if you want to be added babes

It was the summer of Bran’s thirteenth birthday, when they got the news. The Greenfield’s were coming to visit and they were bringing their child Y/N Greenfield. They were often talked about, how they would grow up to become one of the prettiest people alive. Bran couldn't care less. He just wanted to learn archery and not much more.

When the Greenfields arrived his whole family was running around making sure that everything looks perfect. "Robb, can we train this afternoon?" "Bran, we do not have the time for training, we need to prepare. Do something useful and go help father or something.” Stupid Greenfields, now they’ve ruined his weekly training session with Robb, what else are they going to ruin? On his way to his father he ran into his mother Catelyn. “Bran! What are you still doing in these clothes?! Go and put on sometching more formal! Don’t just stand here, GO!” His mother looked very nervous and it almost seemed like this visit would determine their fate as a house.

Deciding not to push the buttons of his mother even more he complied, and asked a servant to bring him some formal clothes. (You didn’t think he would do that himself now did you??). Once it was on his bed he begrudgingly put it on, already feeling as if he doesn’t really like the Greenfields one bit.

He begrudgingly went downstairs to meet with his parents. His parents, Robb, Sansa, Rickon,his adopted brother Jon and hell even Arya were dressed up. They all wore their best clothes for the visit

They all waited for the carriage to enter the gates of Winterfell and they didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes after everything gathered a carriage came into view. It was decorated with beautiful green ornaments and golden leaves on the sides.

Your father, mother and your 2 older brothers left the carriage before you and as last but definitely not least you.

“My lord stark, may I present to you. My eldest : Tobas, my second eldest: Darron. And my youngest : Y/N.” Your father spoke

“It’s a pleasure to meet you guys, really! Come on in! Let the kids get to know each other, they’ll be spending lots of time together in the future so…..” Ned spoke the last part quietly not wanting to reveal anything yet.

You stood there swaying on your feet until you spotted Bran, he looked around your age so you approached him, wanting to seem nice.

“Hi! My name is,” You couldn’t even finish your sentence before he walked away. “Y/N.” You were confused as to why he suddenly walked away. You were only trying to be nice.

“Don’t pay him any attention Y/N, my name is Sansa! Come, you can sit next to me at dinner.” She joined your guy’s arms and walked with you to where you would be staying at.

Ned and your father had made plans to unite your houses when you were born. Tobas and Darron were too old to be wedded to either Sansa or god forbid Arya. But you, you were the perfect age and being born only a few months after Bran? It was a miracle.

At the dinner the announcement was made and my god was it an experience

“Ned, thank you so much for hosting this amazing dinner for us. We couldn’t be more honoured and I believe that as a host you should be the one to announce it.”

“Thank you Duncas,” Ned cleared his throat before he said the words that ruined it all for Bran. “The Starks and Greenfields will be united through a marriage. Bran and Y/N are destined to be wedded as soon as Y/N turns eighteen. Until then they will spend much time together. Let’s all celebrate this alliance!”

Bran felt like he was going to puke. He didn’t want to marry anyone and why them?! They weren’t special or anything, so he sulked and pouted the entirety of the dinner.

You on the other hand already had a feeling when your father announced that you would be visiting Winterfell. You knew that it would be good for your family and Winterfell would be an important ally. Besides Bran wasn’t that bad looking. Wink wink

“Do you hear this Y/N?! We’ll be sisters!” It seemed like Sansa was more excited than your future husband. This was off to a great start.

Over the span of the following 5 years, Bran would be 18 and you would turn 18 later that year, you were forced to spend a lot of time together. Sansa had already accepted you as her sister and you really liked her. Bran on the other hand…..

He was a CUNT. Always ignoring you, making snide remarks about your looks or manners. “No Y/N, I don’t know how you do it down south but we don’t do that here in the North.” He would always make you feel insecure, like you didn’t belong there.

Bran wasn’t the best with women and he didn’t despise you contrary what you might believe. He just didn’t really express him self that good. Alright, he was just shit at communicating and thought it would be better to just make you stay away. :)

You practically lived in Winterfell and the Starks would be receiving some royal visitors. The Queen and her son Tommen would come to visit Winterfell. You were very excited because you never met them before and heard great stories about the future king.

“Sansa! Imagine that the prince would like one of us? Then we’d become the next queen! Isn’t that just a dream?” That is what Bran overheard when he was walking around the place.

“Do you think he could end your betrothal to my brother? If he does, promise me you will remember me!” “Sansa, I will never ever forget you!”

Next day at dinner he decided to do a teeny tiny bit of questioning, did you really like the prince? Were you so desperate to get away from him?

“So Y/N, excited for the visit of the prince?” He gave you a sweet angelic look

“Yeah! I’ve heard great stories about him. Did you hear that he is great at archery and sword fighting?! Like that’s so cool!”

Bran scoffed a bit and replied snarkier than he intended “Pff well I am good with bow and arrow as well you know?”

The day of the visit

You were practically running around, trying to look your absolute best for the prince. You were very intrigued by all the stories you heard the people tell.

“Children, please come to the courtyard, they are arriving!” You could hear Ned’s voice coming from downstairs. With a last glance at the mirror, and deciding you looked amazing as usual you went downstairs.

You took your spot next to your husband to be, who looked extremely happy to see you as he always does haha not. “Good morning Bran! Excited for the visit?” You almost shined with excitement. “Cant wait.” Bran first wanted to cancel the betrothal by making you and the prince a thing. But now as he heard you speak about the prince already without ever seeing him, and now seeing you radiating with energy he started to doubt his intentions.

Could it be possible that he didn’t want to lose you?

Well no time to think about it, Tommen is leaving the carriage and approaching him and you.

“Hello Bran, very nice to see you again. But who is this beautiful person next to you? Excuse me, but I never had the pleasure to mee you I think.” Tommen extended his hand which you gladly accepted, and he planted a gentle kiss on top of your hand.

“Your grace, my name is Y/N of the house Greenfield.” You were delighted that the prince even spoke to you.

“Ah the youngest of the Greenfields, I’ve heard stories about how you are considered one of the prettiest people alive. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Alright Bran was getting more annoyed by the second now, so the little devil he is decided to meddle a bit.

“I’m so lucky to have Y/N as my betrothed,” Bran wrapped his hands around you which took you by surprise. “I really have to thank my father for that.”

“Ah so you are the man lucky enough to be the betrothed of the prettiest person? Well consider yourself lucky Bran, I know a lot of people who would think not twice before offering their hand.”

“Yeah….. Very lucky indeed.” With that the Prince left to enter the castle and settle into a room.

“Alright what the fuck was that Bran?” you hissed at him.

“Whaaattttt? Can’t I appreciate my future wife?” He replied as if he had done nothing wrong.

“Well you didn’t do anything of the sorts the past 5 years so it’s a bit suspicious don’t you think?!”

You tried to walk away but he grabbed your hand and pulled you back in. “I meant what I said just now. Thought you should know.”

With that the future lord of Winterfell left you there standing alone in the middle of the courtyard. Very confused and stunned

You never truly disliked Bran but it seemed he did for a while. So where was this coming from?

“Y/N can you help me with my hair?” That was Sansa shouting at you from the window.

“I’m coming!”

The dinner disaster

What is it with people and placing people where they do not want to be?

On the head of the table was Ned, on his left side were Cathelyn, Arya, Sansa and Robb. On the other head was Cersei. To Ned’s right were Bran, you and then Tommen.

You were placed directly between them, how awkward.

“So Y/N, what do you enjoy doing these days here in Winterfell? I can imagine that it is very different than in the Vale.” The queen spoke to you. Oh my god she acknowledged you.

“Well you highness, even though it is indeed very different from the Vale I don’t think it are bad differences. The main one I had to adapt to is that it’s a bit colder. But as to what I enjoy doing, I really like to ride my horse in the woods. I enjoy reading in our library and recently I have followed some lessons alongside Sansa and Arya in stitching. Although I don’t know if that’s my thing or if it’s too “girly” for me.”

Next to speak was Tommen. “Reading and horseback riding? So many talents in one person, I imagine that the Gods decided to not divide it evenly and that someone missed out.” He said while clearly looking at Bran with the last statement.

Bran deciding to try to ignore Tommen as much as possible spoke to you in such a kind voice you thought he was a different person. “Y/N, what did you read as last again? I remember being very intrigued by it and I would like to read it as well.”

“Oh well, it was something called The history of the Throne. It was very interesting, the stories went back to almost the beginning of the Targaryen dynasty. It also described the dance of the dragons and all that drama in great detail!” You replied back sweetly, but speaking to Bran caused you to turn your back to Tommen which he didn’t really appreciate so he spoke again.

“Aha speaking about the dance of the dragons, do you like them? And who do you think was the rightful heir to the throne?”

So you turned around again now facing Tommen. “Do I like dragons? Who in their right mind doesn’t? The rightful heir, that a very difficult question. I fully understand Rhaenyra, buuuuutt I also understand where Alicent came from. She just thought that Viserys meant their son Aegon and from that point it all became very very confusing.” Tommen was smiling at the attention, Bran however was not.

Before he had the chance to speak the Queen spoke up and you were relieved to hear someone else speak for a while. You weren’t really listening so you were surprised when you heard your name being called by her. “Y/N, darling did you hear me?” “Sorry my Queen I was a bit distracted, could you repeat it for me please?” “I asked you if you like it here in Winterfell and if you look forward to your marriage with Bran?”

Bran grew anxious, if you said no he would be fucked and lose the person he loved.The queen would probably suggest you coming along with her and then marry the prince. Wait hold on did he just think that he loves you? Nono that must be a mistake right? I don’t love Y/N, or do I?

You noticed Bran spacing out and gently placed your hand on top of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. This seemed to bring him back and he looked a bit surprised at you.

“My queen I can assure you that I’m really enjoying Winterfell and I coudnt be more excited for the wedding.” This seemed to shock almost everyone at the table, including Ned and Catelyn. Who tried on numerous occasions to change their sons mind.

“That’s good to hear. Tommen my dear, is everything okay? You look a bit pale.” All of your eyes went over to Tommen who indeed looked paler than normal, probably hoping you weren’t happy. You knew how Tommen must feel and pitied him a bit, so you leaned in close to him and whispered “I know a woman who would be lucky to meet you my prince, she is prettier than I am. Her name is Margaery Tyrell.”

Tommen instantly felt a lot better and couldn’t wait to leave Winterfell all of a sudden.

You and Bran? You guys got married the week after you turned 18, he is your little grumpy man.

[misfitwashere]

July 31, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 01, 2024

Yesterday, from a Harris campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta reporter Tariro Mzezewa noted that the crowd of 10,000 people “was ecstatic. There was chanting, cheering, singing, and dancing for hours in the lead-up to and throughout the event,” Mzezewa wrote today in Slate. 

Mzezewa reported that rapper Megan Thee Stallion told the audience “I know my ladies in the crowd love their body. And if you want to keep loving your body, you know who to vote for,” before performing her hit “Body.” Georgia Democratic politicians showed up in force: voting rights advocate and former state representative Stacey Abrams, senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, state Democratic Party chair Representative  Nikema Williams, and Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens. 

“What you’re seeing is very real,” Mzezewa wrote, and she quoted an attendee who said: “it’s nice to witness history, but getting to be a part of it from the ground up is a whole other level.” Certainly, the grassroots enthusiasm for Harris’s presidential candidacy is palpable. More and more self-identified groups are launching fundraising calls for Harris; yesterday the Latter-day Saints for Harris—Mormons—announced that they, too, are “putting [their] shoulders to the wheel!” Today the executive board of the United Auto Workers also endorsed Harris.

At last night’s event, Vice President Harris noted that Trump has pulled out of the September debate to which he had previously agreed. “Here’s the funny thing about that,” she said. “He won’t debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me,” After hitting the campaign’s refrain that marks MAGA Republican behavior as “weird,” she added to applause: “Well, Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”

Trump did not say it to her face, but today he unloaded spectacularly on three Black female interviewers at a meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago.

When ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott began the interview by quoting a number of his racist statements about Black Americans and asking why, given that history, Black voters should trust him, he lost it. “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” he began. “You don’t even say ‘Hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network.” 

He went on to try to dominate Scott, listing the policies he claimed to have put into place, and to attack the people who organized the event before saying, “I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. That’s my answer….  And for you to start off a question and answer period…in such a hostile manner, I think it’s a disgrace.”   

As the session began, so it continued, with Trump questioning Harris’s Black identity—while also mispronouncing her name—and warning the attendees that they need “to stop people from invading our country that are…taking Black jobs.” NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor told MSNBC that during the interview, “people were stunned, people were gasping, there were some people who were shouting back at him saying ‘That's a lie!’” Attendees laughed and jeered at Trump throughout the 37-minute session; his handlers made him leave early. 

Scott accurately summed up Trump’s long history of racism, but lately he has been advertising it. In an interview with Fox News Channel personality Laura Ingraham aired last night, Trump said that Harris would be “like a play toy” for world leaders. “They look at her and they say we can’t believe we got so lucky. They’re gonna walk all over her.” “I don’t want to say as to why,” he said to the camera, “but a lot of people understand it.”

It is unlikely that his insults and naked racism will appeal to anyone but his base, making his performance, as Jessica Tarlov put it on the Fox News Channel, “a complete, absolute dumpster fire.” It is possible that Trump has lost the ability to read a room and reassure his audience that he’s a good bet. But it is also possible that Trump cannot bear to see the enthusiasm building behind Harris, not only because of its electoral meaning, but also because it reveals how small his own following is and how much people loathe him.  

Aaron Rupar of Public Notice, who produces wonderful video threads of important events, “put together an 11-minute supercut of Trump angrily self-immolating at the NABJ before his handlers pulled him from the stage.” 

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo analyzed Trump’s meltdown in Chicago this way: “I think we’re getting the first view of imploding Donald Trump as he realizes that what was his for the taking ten days ago is slipping away and he’s likely to go to prison rather than the White House. He [is] being dominated and humiliated by Harris and he’s losing it.” His post after the interview, in which he boasted “[t]he questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!” seemed an attempt to reassert his old pattern of simply declaring things to be true that…aren’t. 

Indeed, one of Trump’s answers to the journalists in Chicago revealed that he cares only about getting elected, rather than governing. It also suggested that his camp is trying to reassure him that his pick of Ohio senator J.D. Vance to be his running mate will not hurt their chances, even as more and more videos of Vance attacking women become public and as he is historically bad in front of television cameras.

Vance has only 18 months of experience in elected office, making him one of the least qualified candidates for vice president in U.S. history. When asked if Vance would be ready “on day one,” to assume the duties of the presidency if necessary, Trump answered a different question altogether, revealing what is uppermost in his mind. “I’ve always had great respect for him…but…historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact, I mean, virtually no impact. You have two or three days where there’s a lot of commotion…and then that dies down and it’s all about the presidential thing. Virtually never has it mattered…. Historically, the choice of a vice president makes no difference.”   

The Harris campaign responded to Trump’s performance by saying: "The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people…. Today's tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump's MAGA rallies this entire campaign,” while “Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans.” 

It urged Trump again to “stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10."

Trump’s petulant fury at the Black journalists today suggests just how dangerous it would be to put him in control of the nation’s law enforcement and military capabilities a second time. We were given a glimpse of how eager he was to turn those capabilities against American citizens in his first term when the Department of Justice today released the report of the department’s inspector general concerning the Trump administration’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C., in summer 2020.

The authors of the report emphasized that they were unable to compel the testimony of officials including then–attorney general William Barr, his chief of staff William Levi, FBI deputy director David Bowdich, and FBI Washington Field Office assistant director in charge Timothy Slater. 

But what they were able to put together even without their information was that, although the protests were largely peaceful, Trump was desperate to get 2,000 federal officers into the area around the White House on June 1, 2020, to increase federal control of the city. To the frustration of the people in charge of the agencies, he could not articulate a mission, only that he wanted 2,000 people around him. With only about 90 officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Marshals Service on hand early on the morning of June 1, Barr told a conference call with Justice Department leadership that  Trump wanted “max strength” on the streets, and to “dominate the streets.” 

Trump then echoed that language in a call with the nation’s governors, saying, “If you don’t dominate your city and your state, they’re [going to] walk away with you. And we’re doing it in Washington, in D.C., we’re going to do something that people haven’t seen before. But you’re going to have total domination.”

Then, the report says, the administration began to prepare to invoke the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that authorizes the president to deploy the U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion. At 4:48 that evening, lawyers from the Office of Legal Counsel, who advise the president, received an email that the president was going to address the nation at 6:00 and that a proclamation invoking the Insurrection Act should be “ready for signing” before then.

Shortly after, additional officers from the Bureau of Prisons—without names on their uniforms because they do not usually wear them, if you remember the concern over those nameless uniforms—arrived at the White House. Barr was in charge of clearing the streets, and ultimately, by about 9:00 he felt things were calm enough that he advised Trump against invoking the Insurrection Act. 

But it was evidently a close thing.

[cookeybg]

Unexpected Cohabitation a JonDami fic

I like how this chapter turned out. Also finally in Part two of the series. Yay!

I'm thinking of adding the word count, what do you all think? This chapter has 1,171 words.

FYI there are two mean words in this chapter.

Title: Unexpected Cohabitation

Main Characters: Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne (some of the others show up too, the list is too long)

Eventual relationship: Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne (my fave)

Stuff to know: No capes, reverse robins, high school AU, no smut, no Brucie Wayne, I know nothing about sports but it will show up, (aaand I think that's it, will add more if it comes up)

[Here's my table of contents]

Part 2 - Chapter 6

Jon stood by the bleachers taking deep breaths, sweat stinging his eyes, and took a big swig from his water bottle. The sun was still sweltering in late August, but that did not deter any of the boys who had been participating in tryouts. There were ten open spots, left behind by the seniors who had graduated, and Jon was determined to be a part of the main reserve team. If he made it, he would be able to ride the same bus as the varsity players. He had been able to keep up with the more seasoned players and he really hoped that was enough to impress Coach.

He had finished his mile run before the rest of the participants and now he watched some of the stragglers finish. He took another swig from his water bottle and his gaze landed on Damian Wayne. They had not spoken at all since that awkward dinner, as a matter of fact he hadn’t even acknowledged him. Damian was currently sitting on the grass doing some stretches, his green shorts riding up and showing tanned, toned and glistening thighs. Jon could feel his cheeks warm up and immediately looked away. He really hoped if anyone noticed it could be mistaken for the running he had just completed.

He hated to admit that Damian was impressive. He basically excelled in all positions Jon had watched him practice but he had mainly stayed glued to Colin who was the team’s main pitcher. He and Damian could be seen throwing and catching the ball any free moment they got. Jon guessed that it made sense since Damian was the team’s catcher and it was important for the two to be in sync.

“Alright!” Coach’s loud clap echoed throughout the field. “Everyone gather around! It’s time to announce those on the reserve team!” All the students gathered in front of Coach with a mix of apprehension and excitement. “Remember even if you don’t make the main reserve team you can still come to practice and who knows you may eventually become part of the varsity team after the current Seniors graduate so, don’t give up!” He looked down at his clipboard and started rattling off some names.

Jon felt his insides twist. What if he wasn’t chosen? He had sounded pretty confident when he told his dad that he was a shoo in. Would he still stay on or would he instead focus on the journalism club? It would be fun to be able to hangout with Jay some more. What if-

“Jon Kent!” Coach announced and Jon let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in. “That’s it for today! Go shower and head home, see you all on Monday!” He dismissed the teenagers and started packing up his things with the help of the two baseball managers the team had.

Jon was on cloud nine as he walked towards the locker room. He tried not to let the image of some of the participants who had started to cry get to him. He had worked very hard to recover from his broken leg and believed he earned it. The noise in the locker room was chaos some of the kids decided that they would just shower at home and took off with their backpacks and school uniform in hand while still wearing their gym clothes. Jon on the other hand grabbed a bar of soap and a towel from his locker and started walking towards the showers.

The week had been topsy-turvy at home, what with his parents being home and doing most of the packing, Jon and Conner had been responsible for their room. Conner was no help with the chore since he was comfortable with just dumping everything willy-nilly in whatever box or bag was near him. Jon had found a pizza crust in the bag where their blankets were folded in, well at least Jon’s blankets had been folded, the argument that proceeded that had not been pretty. So, Jon had been taking advantage of having a somewhat relaxing shower after tryouts instead on traversing the stressful, disorganized mess that was soon to be his old home.

Once finished he walked towards his locker, trying to dry his hair with one hand while the other held on to the slippery bar of soap. The locker rooms were basically silent. Almost everyone had left, those few had gathered in groups and talked about where they were going to hangout as they gathered their stuff and walked out the locker room. Distracted, he slipped and squeezed the bar of soap too tight. Jon watched the white bar fly up into an arc and over a row of lockers, his amazement turned to horror as he heard a smack and a yell of surprise. He rushed around the row of lockers spotting the bar on the floor. He ran towards it; the sound of his flip-flops smacked the floor loudly. Holding onto the towel around his waist he picked up the soap and looked at the huddled figure in front of him.

“I’m so sorry!” Jon reached towards the other teenager, but a hand shot out grabbing his wrist and yanking him so that his bare back hit the lockers, his arm pinned over his head while the other clutched the bar of soap to his chest.

“What the fuck!” Damian seethed, damp hair falling over his forehead.

Jon’s eyes widened in surprise. Damian boxed him against the lockers forcing Jon to bend his knees slightly so that Damian was slightly towering over him. Jon could see his nostrils flare but he could also see that Damian was only wearing his white school shirt and a pair of black boxers. His shirt was unbuttoned and Jon had to try very hard not to look at his bare chest, he also let go of the bar of soap opting to hold on to the towel around his waist. The bar made a clattering noise as it hit the ground.

“Why do you keep hitting me over the head with shit?” Damian hissed glaring down at him.

“I-I…” Jon couldn’t form a coherent thought, Damian was inches away from Jon’s nose. Way too close, closer than anyone had ever been, to his naked body. He could feel Damian’s breath, smell the mint of toothpaste and he could not look away from those very angry green orbs.

“Dames?” A voice called from somewhere towards the locker room entrance. Damian looked up tsked and pushed away from Jon hurriedly buttoning his shirt and pulling on the school uniform slacks.

“Coming!” He called, his eyes narrowed at Jon who stood staring at him with large blue eyes and clutching his wrist. Damian grabbed his bag, ruffled through it and threw the item he found on the bench behind him. “Put that on your wrist.” He commanded and left, slamming his locker door shut.

Jon picked up the item and examined it. It was an icy hot patch.

[talkingtea]

Adding to what anon said a while ago about LA's pregnancies during hectic filming schedules for Grant, not to be in anyone's plans for their family, but I type this in the context of people with wealth & the blessing to free up time because of said wealth. It very well could've been an oops baby for them, but I know no one here believes that given LA's behavior over the years. She most likely had her pregnancy along with the announcement coincide with his NYC Broadway debut for the attention it could've brought but didn't to dtba's brand relaunch. Obviously, knowing he's going to be there for his wife & new child & can book another theater role down the line, he ultimately had to give up his dream role earlier than if they'd waited. I also don't think LA minds being back in Los Angeles now before him, part for the nesting stage, & over the years I get the vibe that LA doesn't enjoy living in different places for Grant's filming as opposed to staying in Los Angeles full-time if they could even before having their first child. Definitely countradictory, though, seeing she chose to marry a working actor who obviously can't just film there. She seems to only want to be in L.A., & to me, it's not even for family (technically only Jon) or anything like that, but credit to her ego, she wants to immerse herself in L.A. celebrity culture constantly to feel like one (not the floundering influencer she is or known as wife to an actual celebrity). And obviously, all celebrities don't live in California, but some of the big names out there that she wants to train, like Ben, she tries & continues to fail to get or keep. Only getting 1 or 2 lower than A-list celebs & their significant others, which we clearly see why. 

☕️☕️☕️

[msfcatlover]

Reverse!Robins/Titans Timeline

Still trying to pin this down. Not bothering with time intervals, just order of events.

(Gee, can you tell which parts of this team I’m still ironing out, and which ones I’ve put the most thought into?)

Batman: Zero Year

Joker debuts. (Duke’s parents caught in one of the attacks)

Duke starts patrolling/searching for his parents.

After running into Duke several times, Bruce makes Duke his crime-fighting partner to both train & keep an eye on him. Duke chooses the name “Moonbeam.”

Yara Flor becomes Wonder Girl. Bruce & Diana encourage their proteges to become friends, so that they have someone their own age who understands their vigilante problems to talk to.

Connor Hawke reunites with his father, and becomes Marksman (Green Arrow’s first sidekick.) Connor is also encouraged to join this friend group.

(Clark occasionally asks the teens to babysit his son Jon, when the adults are busy.)

Damian shows up in Gotham, making a huge splash & overturning the Batfam status quo. After killing a few criminals, Damian is forbidden from patrolling until he proves himself trustworthy.

(Damian does not join the group, but the others know about him because Duke complains. Damian does become friends with Jon after a little while.)

A ship crashes while the JL is busy. The teens go to investigate it, finding a single survivor who turns out to have speedster powers & complete amnesia. They use the Batcomputer to trace the ship, trying to help their new friend.

Damian sneaks onboard the shuttle the teens “borrow” to follow their trace, still trying to prove himself.

This team finds an illegal alien market and breaks it up, rescuing Pam in the process.

Upon return to Earth, the JL commends the kids for their work. A new team is formed with Yara as their leader, and named the “Teen Titans.” The lineup is:

Wonder Girl (Yara Flor)

Moonbeam (Duke Thomas)

Marksman (Connor Hawke)

Kid Flash (Bartholomew “Tolly” Taurus)

Menagerie (Pamela “Pam” Merlo)

Damian does not get to be part of the team, deemed too young, but he has proven himself enough to officially join Batman & Moonbeam on the streets. He goes by “Shadow.”

Arthur Curry asks if his protege, Kaldur'ahm, can join the Titans. Aqualad is added to the lineup.

Pam’s sister, Sonja, tries to get in contact. Whole arc occurs of Pam struggling with her own transformation and the two of them reuniting.

Chimera (Ra'ut L'lwer) joins the Titans.

Yara’s arc where she’s manipulated by Eros & Hera happens here.

Jon becomes Superboy, and joins the Titans.

Damian joins the Titans.

Tolly’s past comes to light, throwing his relationships with everyone in the community into chaos. The team barely manages to pull themselves together in time to mount a defense and keep him from being punished for the crimes of a life that was not his. 

Tolly still feels the need to pull away from the Titans a little out of guilt over what he’s done (especially to Pam.)

Barry Allen dies, and Tolly becomes the Flash.

Yara is at this point over 20, and feeling out of place at the head of the team. She starts to pull back a bit, trying to figure out where her life is going next.

Cassandra Cain is adopted by Bruce Wayne. Duke is the only one who can train against her, as his precognition lets him just about keep up with her body-reading abilities. They bond, and he introduces her to the team.

Spoiler debuts in Gotham. Batman tells her to go home.

Damian decides to make Spoiler his apprentice.

Anima (Courtney Mason) joins the Titans.

Yara announces she’s officially stepping down as leader of the Titans. Duke steps up, announcing his own change of name to “The Signal,” and officially passing his mantle to his little sister, Cassandra.

Anima & Chimera manage to figure out how to free Pamela from her swarm. Duke’s first official mission as team leader is facilitating this.

Pam leaves the Titans for a normal life with her sister. Many tears are shed.

[I’m just double-checking my current lineup.]

The Signal (Duke Thomas)

Marksman (Connor Hawke)

Aqualad (Jackson Hyde/Kaldur’ahm)

Chimera (Ra'ut L'lwer) 

Superboy (Jonathan Kent/Jon-El)

Shadow (Damian Wayne)

Moonbeam (Cassandra Wayne)

Anima (Courtney Mason)

Steph’s mom goes to rehab. Bruce fosters Steph in the meantime, and this is how she discovers their identities.

Damage (Grant Emerson) joins the Titans as community service, after his powers manifest by going completely haywire.

(Yara decides going by “Wonder Girl” is undermining her attempts to be an independent adult hero. She changes her name to “Diadem.”)

Damian introduces Steph to the team. Spoiler becomes a Titan.

Chimera announces she’s going independent and leaves the team.

Just like in canon, Grant’s trauma catches up with him and he has to step down from hero work. Connor takes Grant under his wing formally and they both leave the team.

Emiko Queen takes Connor’s place on the team, going by the name “Red Arrow.”

Duke is too overwhelmed by being Gotham’s only daytime hero and running the team, as well as feeling guilty for not giving Grant more support. He goes independent, leaving the team.

Jon & Damian step up as co-leaders of the Titans.

Roundhouse (William Wu) & Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) join the Titans.

Anima is stranded in another dimension on a mission with the team, in a dramatic act of self-sacrifice to ensure everyone else can make it home. Everyone is very upset, but they comfort themselves knowing she’s still out there being a hero, just... somewhere else.

After a lot of introspection, Aqualad decides to dedicate himself full-time to his studies & duties in Atlantis, and steps down from the team.

[Double-checking the lineup]

Superboy (Jonathan Kent)

Shadow (Damian Wayne)

Moonbeam (Cassandra Wayne)

Spoiler (Stephanie Brown)

Red Arrow (Emiko Queen)

Roundhouse (William Wu)

Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes)

Damian & Jon decide to go independant together, becoming Bluhaven’s new superheroes as Nightwing & Flamebird. Damian formally passes his mantle to Steph in private before they announce the change to the team.

Steph & Cass take over as co-leaders.

Steph meets Tim at school, and they become fast friends. After a couple months of being study buddies, they start dating.

Jon introduces his adoptive younger siblings, the Super-Twins, to the team.

Vaporlock (Natasha Irons) joins the team.

Atom (Ray Palmer) is de-aged. He temporarily joins the team until he can recover his memories.

Argent (Antonia Monetti), Static (Virgil Hawkins), & Power Girl (Tanya Spears) join the team.

Atom goes back to normal and leaves.

Cass takes on Tim as her apprentice after catching him following the Bats around Gotham. Steph is a bit thrown by this discovery, but training together only stengthens her & Tim’s relationship.

Until Cass decides Tim’s ready to follow them on patrol (if not fight anyone yet,) and gives Tim the Spoiler mantle without asking, assuming it’s just a placeholder name and not realizing it has any special meaning to Steph.

(This is the beginning of the end, though they don’t realize it yet.)

Steph feels betrayed by the theft of her old identity and it compounds with her initial uneasiness over Tim befriending/dating her without telling her he knew their identities. She tries to put it aside for the good of the city, but can’t.

The sudden rockiness between Steph & Cass bleeds over into the Titans. When the team meets Tim, it becomes clear something about his apprenticeship with Cass is what has lead to the rift, though none of the Bats will clarify.

Emiko introduces her own apprentice, Mia Dearden, the second Marksman.

Steph & Tim have a really nasty breakup.

Steph has the same death she suffered in War Games.

The entire Batfamily are left reeling.

Tim gets fired.

Cass struggles to go on as both Moonbeam & the leader of the Titans, when she’s supposed to be part of a matched set. She ends up quitting both, and the team completely falls apart.

Cass puts together a new costume, made originally from old Batman suits, and gains the street name “Black Bat.” (She didn’t choose it, it was given to her; Batman has the yellow belt & circle, where Cass’s suit has neither. So which Bat is attacking? “The black bat.”)

Tim gives the family until after Steph’s funeral before dropping by (to argue his case, but if that doesn’t work, to pick up his stuff.) He sees Steph’s memorial, and is furious that Bruce would reduce Steph’s legacy to that.

After weeks of arguing, Tim throws on his own version of the Shadow costume (back to Damian’s original black, but the cloak is lined with Steph’s signature purple) and eventually forces his way into the role, refusing to let Steph’s dream die with her.

Damian is incensed by the whole mess that’s happening with Tim. That’s his mantle Tim is taking, and Damian’s still wracked with guilt that Steph died, blaming himself for not training her thoroughly enough. Damian demands that before Tim ever goes out as Shadow, Tim has to go to Bludhaven every weekend to train with Damian. 

The training is absolutely brutal, but Tim refuses to give up. Eventually, Duke finds out about it and goes to ream Damian out for taking things so far (and Jon, for not having already given Damian this same lecture.) Duke essentially tells Damian that Damian’s no better than the people who originally hurt Damian and storms out.

Duke tells Tim he doesn’t have to go back the next weekend. Tim shows up anyway. Damian stares blankly for a few seconds, then takes a very confused Tim out for ice cream.

(Damian spends years trying to be better, to make up for what he’s done, but he never manages to get over that double-dose of guilt. He veers hard in the other direction, being incredibly supportive whenever they’re around eachother, but also avoids Tim whenever Damian can justify it to himself, because it just... eats at Damian.)

Tim also pulls the Titans back together. Or, more accurately, he pulls Vaporlock, Marksman, and Blue Beetle back together, before he ends up recruiting... well, basically the Young Justice lineup to be his new team.

Tim’s parents die. Tim tries the whole fake uncle thing, but Damian rats him out.

(Somewhere in there, Tim ends up on Ra’s al Ghul’s radar.)

Jason tries to steal the Batmobile’s tires.

Jason manages to convince the family to let him help. They offer him Moonbeam, but Jason doesn’t want to be Moonbeam. First of all, Jason can’t do any of that weird precog stuff Duke & Cass have going on; second, Jason’s personal hero was always the Shadow with the Crime Alley accent.

Tim gives Jason Spoiler instead (Tim himself thinking Spoiler is a training-wheel mantle, but more importantly, it was Steph’s.)

During a public event, Tim is shot by an assassin who took a contract from Ra’s. Laying in the hospital, Tim all but begs Bruce to go out on patrol and Jason to put on the Shadow costume, not wanting Tim’s injury to be the reason their identities got outed.

Tim’s spine was clipped by the bullet. While he’s not completely paralyzed, he’ll never be able to walk unassisted again, and even with mobility aids, Tim suffers from chronic pain thanks to the nerve damage.

(Tim finds a get well card from Ra’s, inviting Tim for a dip in the Lazarus pit whenever Tim’s ready to admit he “needs” it. Tim borrows Jason’s lighter and burns the note. Only Tim & Jason ever know about it.)

Tim becomes Oracle.

When Jason joins the Titans, it’s assumed he’ll be their new leader, as Shadow and/or Moonbeam have always been one of the leaders of the Titans. He also suffers a lot from the comparison to his predecessors, and with how people perceive the speed at which he took up Tim’s mantle.

Jason does win that place and prove himself as a leader, but it is a rough ride to get there.

[Jason’s Titans lineup]

Inherited from Tim:

Wonder Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark)

Impulse (Bart Allen)

Miss Martian (M’gann M’orzz)

Joined while Jason was Spoiler:

Red Devil (Edward Bloomberg)

Ravager (Rose Wilson)

DC (Daniel Chase)

(Yes, Danny thinks hero names are stupid and only ever used one to fake his own death. But, frankly, Danny used his real name as his spy code name, which makes him mocking everyone else for having hero names just… so goddam insufferable. I’m cutting the middle ground here; it’s not a full-on alias, but it’s not just shouting his real name in a high-stakes/arguably undercover situation.)

Joined under Jason’s leadership:

Beast Boy (Garfield Logan)

Raven (Rachel Roth)

Cyborg (Victor Stone)

Halo (Gabrielle Doe)

Risk (Cody Driscoll)

Redwing (Carrie Levine)

Prester (Jonathan Levine)

(I found a pair of twins I both know & like better than Jade & Obsidian. Seriously, John & Carrie are the best part of the entire Team Titans fiasco, and given we do see some overlap between the timelines, I’ve no idea why they got wiped from reality but fucking Mirage didn’t.)

Steph comes back to life. 

Cue the Lost Days/Red Hood arcs.

Steph does try to scare Jason out of being a hero with the fight at the Tower. She shows up in her Death Mask costume and frames it as a fair duel--“More fair than any other rogue will give you.”--to prove that non-powered (non-ninja) kids like them can only meet a nasty end. The fight doesn’t stay “fair” long, as Steph fights dirty to make her point, and throws both her own history & Jason’s insecurities into his face. Jason adapts, but doesn’t win, eventually left reeling by the reveal of Steph’s identity.

The fight is interrupted by Eddie, who gets back early from an off-planet mission and therefore was not factored into Steph’s contingencies for the other Titans. Steph escapes by first holding Jason in front of her with a knife to his throat, then driving the knife into his thigh, forcing Eddie to choose between going after her and keeping Jason from bleeding out.

Red Devil stays behind to cauterize the wound, and Death Mask gets away.

.

After that, the chronology gets a lot more muddled.

Steph reunites with the family after saving Jason from the Joker.

Bruce takes in Dick after Dick’s parents die, but it’s a very rough transition. Then Bruce dies, leading to the family falling apart all over again, Jason getting the Red Robin (”Bluejay”) arc, Cass becoming Batman, and Dick becoming her Moonbeam.

When Bruce comes back, Bluejay joins the Signal as a daytime hero.

When Bruce can eventually no longer be Batman and Cass steps up again, she’ll offer Jason Black Bat if he wants it. He accepts, and everyone assumes Dick will be Bluejay when Dick graduates from being Moonbeam.

When Dick grows up, his final hero identity will be Robin.

[ufonaut]

With Alan Scott’s first solo book since 1949 now officially announced, I thought it was about time to finally put together a reading guide to all his appearances as a gay man in DC’s main continuity. If you’ve missed the beginning of Alan’s journey and you’ve got a couple questions that need to be answered, or you merely want to refresh your memory and celebrate this momentous occasion, this is the place for you!

VITAL

Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular (2020) #1 -  a rehash of Alan’s origin from All-American Comics (1939) #16 with added details, now establishing Jimmy Henton as his lover and confirming Alan’s sexuality as well the gaycoding of his original appearances from so many decades past.

Infinite Frontier (2021) #0 - Alan comes out as gay to his children in a tearful confession regarding his past fears, his marriages, and the eighty years he’s spent in the closet.

DC Pride (2021) #1 - Alan meets Todd and his boyfriend Damon Matthews for lunch and a long overdue honest discussion -- featuring flashbacks to Alan and Jimmy’s first meeting and the subsequent train crash, as well as a newfound understanding between Alan and Todd and what it had meant for Alan to see Todd as an out gay man.

THE DCU AT LARGE/ONGOING

Infinite Frontier (2021) #1-6 - picking up immediately after the aforementioned IF #0 and DC Pride, the series sees Alan and Todd working together to solve Jennie’s mysterious disappearance and the destruction of the JSA’s HQ. Alan’s sexuality is referenced throughout the book, and the complicated father-son relationship between him and Todd is further explored.

Dark Crisis (2022) #1-6 - Alan is a main character in the series, dealing with themes of legacy and the official return of the JSA.

Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green (2022) #1 - the one-shot sees Alan coming back to his magical roots, and features him as the key to defeating the Great Darkness with his children’s help. Notable for featuring four generations of DC’s mainstay LGBT characters (Alan, John Constantine, Todd Rice, and Jon Kent).

The New Golden Age (2022) #1 - this one-shot sets up the Justice Society of America (2022) ongoing series and the Stargirl: The Lost Children (2022) six-issue miniseries, it’s also the first story set in the 1940s to feature Alan after his coming out and it officially confirms that Doiby Dickles was aware and accepting of his sexuality.

Justice Society of America (2022) - current ongoing series, Alan is a main character.

UPCOMING

DC Pride (2023) #1 - the one-shot will feature a team-up between Alan and Apollo & Midnighter in the story entitled ‘Anniversary’. Out May 30th 2023!

DC Pride: Through The Years (2023) #1 - the one-shot serves as the starting point for Alan’s upcoming series. Out June 13th 2023!

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern (2023) #1-6 - the six-issue miniseries is a ‘year one’ type story, exploring Alan’s rarely-seen coming of age and his life as a gay man in the 1940s. Out October 3rd 2023!

ELSEWORLDS

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2020) #1 - Alan is one of the main characters in this Elseworlds one-shot, making the ultimate sacrifice to save the world after revealing to Todd that he knows what it’s like “to hide your light”.

Injustice: Year Zero (2020) #1-14 - Alan is a main character in this prequel miniseries, he and Jimmy Henton are a married couple. To date, issue #13 features Alan’s only on-panel kiss.

OFFICIAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS

The DC Comics Encyclopedia New Edition (2021) - this is the very first official DC encyclopedia to refer to Alan as a gay man.

The DC Book of Pride (2023) - this encyclopedia of DC’s LGBT characters features an entry on Alan.

ASSORTED CAMEOS

Infinite Frontier: Secret Files (2021) #3

Stargirl Spring Break Special (2021) #1

Justice League vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes (2022) #4

Dark Crisis: War Zone (2023) #1

Lazarus Planet: Alpha (2023) #1

Lazarus Planet: Omega (2023) #1

Stargirl: The Lost Children (2022) #6

[kp777]

By Jon Queally

Common Dreams

May 24, 2024

"This is how free speech is actually chilled—vengeful dipshit billionaires," said one media executive, after more than a dozen staffers let go from nonprofit watchdog whose mission is to combat right-wing disinformation and propaganda.

Just months after mega-billionaire Elon Musk launched what he termed a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against Media Matters for America, the nonprofit media watchdog outfit announced a round of punishing layoffs Thursday which it in part attributed to the financial strain imposed by the legal battle it now faces. What triggered Musk's initial outrage in November was MMFA reporting about "pro-Nazi content" on the social media platform X, owned by Musk, appearing alongside ads by prominent corporations in the content stream shown to users.

In his post threatening the lawsuit, which was later filed in Texas, Musk vowed to target "Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company." Noting the scope of his retribution, Musk then added: "Their board, their donors, their network of dark money, all of them…" would be included in the suit's scope.

"However you feel about our work, it should worry you that any billionaire could do this to any outlet at any time for any reason. It's a sad day for free speech."

In the organization's Thursday announcement of layoffs, Media Matters' president Angelo Carusone said: "We're confronting a legal assault on multiple fronts and given how rapidly the media landscape is shifting, we need to be extremely intentional about how we allocate resources in order to stay effective. Nobody does what Media Matters does."

Due to the pressures, Carusone explained, the group was "taking this action now to ensure that we are sustainable, sturdy and successful for whatever lies ahead." More than a dozen staffers, including researchers and digital producers, were among those terminated.

"Many of my best colleagues at Media Matters lost their jobs today," Ari Drennen, the LGBTQ program director for Media Matters, said Thursday on X alongside individual posts from many of those laid off. "However you feel about our work, it should worry you that any billionaire could do this to any outlet at any time for any reason. It's a sad day for free speech."

Media Matters is a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit—which describes itself as a "progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media"—founded in 2004 at the height of the George W. Bush administration.

Ever since it has targeted the right-wing media echo chamber, including Fox News and other prominent cable, newspaper, and radio broadcasters who coordinate the messaging of pro-corporate and reactionary forces within the Republican Party and beyond.

In a post on X shared Thursday afternoon, laid-off Media Matters journalist Kat Abughazaleh lamented the firing of her talented colleagues (and encouraged outlets that are hiring to consider them) as she also directed her ire at Musk for his possible role in the downsizing decision.

"There’s a reason far-right billionaires attack Media Matters with armies of lawyers," said Abughazaleh. "They know how effective our work is, and it terrifies them (him)," with the parenthetical a seeming reference to Musk.

Responding to her message on the social media platform now owned by Musk, media executive Ben Collins, current CEO of the satirical website The Onion, doubled-down on the charge against the Tesla founder and on-again-off-again world's richest man.

"Fuck Elon Musk," Collins said.

"This is why right-wing billionaires sue people reporting on them," continued Collins, who previously worked as a reporter for NBC News covering, among other thing, right-wing disinformation. "They know they can't win these lawsuits. But they also know legal fees will cripple the little guy reporting on their lies and crimes. This is how free speech is actually chilled—vengeful dipshit billionaires."

Musk has championed himself as a devote "free speech absolutist," but his time at the helm of X, which was Twitter when he purchased it, has repeatedly exposed the limits of his commitment.

In 2007, in one of the most famous cases of its kind, the Gawker media group—which controlled a number of online outlets—was sued by professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, a lawsuit later discovered to be bankrolled by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel due to a preexisting grudge he had against the site's reporting, which ultimately led to its bankruptcy for Gawker and closure.

In March of this year, a federal judge in California threw out a similar lawsuit brought by X under Elon Musk against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit group that had publicly accused the platform of profiting off hateful content published on the platform.

In tossing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer cited the transparent motivation behind the suit as part of the reason it lacked legitimacy.

It was "evident," said Breyer in his ruling that "X Corp. has brought this case in order to punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp.—and perhaps in order to dissuade others who might wish to engage in such criticism."

As Tim Karr, senior director at the media advocacy group Free Press, wrote in an op-ed for Common Dreams last year, Musk's "attempts to silence his critics are not surprising to anyone who has followed Musk's erratic behavior" over recent years.

"The magnate positions himself as a champion of free and open debate," wrote Karr, "while taking extraordinary efforts to silence any honest criticism and independent research that might negatively impact Musk and his many businesses."

Citing the specific attack on CCDH at the time, Karr concluded that the "only thing absolute about Elon is his refusal to give a fair hearing to any of his critics. And that's absolutely not free-speech absolutism."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jon Henley, Jennifer Rankin, and Lisa O'Carroll at The Guardian:

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has been accused of gambling with French democracy after announcing that he will dissolve parliament and call snap legislative elections in the wake of his allies’ crushing defeat to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in Sunday’s European parliament elections. On a night that saw far-right parties make significant but far from conclusive gains in Europe, the RN won about 32% of French votes, more than double the 15% or so scored by Macron’s allies, according to projections, with the Socialists just behind on about 14%. The first round of elections for the national assembly will take place on 30 June and the second on 7 July, Macron announced in an address to the nation, in a huge gamble on his political future three years before the end of his second term as president. The outcome of the European parliament elections was “not a good result for parties who defend Europe”, the French president said, noting that, led by RN, far-right parties in France had taken almost 40% of the national vote.

“I cannot act as if nothing had happened,” he said. “I have decided to give you the choice ... Therefore I will dissolve the National Assembly tonight.” He said the decision was “serious and heavy”, but called it “an act of confidence”. Less than two months before the start of the 2024 Paris summer Olympic Games, Macron said he had confidence in “the capacity of the French people to make the best choice for themselves and for future generations”. He added: “This is an essential time for clarification. I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered … France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony.” Others were less convinced. Raphaël Glucksmann, who headed the Socialist party’s list, said Macron had “given in” to Bardella. “This is a very dangerous game to play with democracy and the institutions. I am flabbergasted.”

Another critic, Valérie Pécresse, a senior figure in the conservative Les Républicains party, said: “Dissolving without giving anyone time to organise and without any campaign is playing Russian roulette with the country’s destiny.” “Emmanuel Macron is a poker player, we’ve seen that tonight,” said a Green party MP, Sandrine Rousseau. But Marine Le Pen, the RN figurehead who is seen as the front runner in 2027 presidential elections in which Macron cannot stand, said she welcomed the decision. “We are ready to put the country back on its feet. We are ready to defend the interests of the French people,” she said. Her party’s lead candidate for the European election, Jordan Bardella, 28, said voters had delivered a “a stinging rejection” of the president. Macron’s Renaissance party currently has 169 deputies in the national assembly, and the RN 88. If the far-right party wins an outright majority in the upcoming election, the president would effectively lose control over most French domestic policy.

[...]

Although exit polls indicated that the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had made significant gains in Germany and was in second place on 16.5% of the vote, the opposition centre-right was on course for 29.5%. The AfD’s success came despite a slew of scandals, including its lead candidate saying that the SS, the Nazi’s main paramilitary force, were “not all criminals”. In Austria, meanwhile, the far-right Freedom party was forecast to come top, with a projected 27%, ahead of the conservative People’s party and the Social Democrats, on 23.5% and 23% respectively. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ far-right party was running a close second behind a Left-Green alliance. The Freedom party looked set to win 17.7% of the vote, while the Left-Green alliance, led by the former EU Commission vice-president, Frans Timmermans, was on 21.6%.

But it was far from a clean sweep for the far right, which fell short of expectations in Belgium. And crucially, parties on the extreme right remain divided, making them less influential in Brussels. According to an initial projection from the European parliament, MEPs from the four pro-European mainstream groups were forecast to retain a majority of seats in the assembly, but a smaller one than in 2019, which will make it increasingly difficult for them to pass laws. The European People’s party, Socialists and Democrats, the centrist Renew group and the Greens were on course for 456 of the 720 seats, a 63% share, compared with their 69.2% share in the slightly smaller outgoing parliament. These groups often find themselves on opposing sides – the Greens, for example, did not support Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president in 2019.

The 2024 EU elections were a disasterclass for non-right-wing parties, especially in France, as that’s nation’s PM Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of parliament and called for new elections in the wake of the far-right surge.

[tiredtogepi]

A Lady & Her Hounds

Chapter 7

The Hound x Fem!Reader (Jon Arryn's daughter; Sabrina)

This chapter contains: Fluff | Death

Word Count: 1003

In the morning the three of you went on your way. For some reason the mood was light and you were full of hope. Even if you had to see your step mother, bringing Arya with you would give you some credit and maybe you could have some say in how your future would go.

You could see from afar something had happened with a farmer, his lot was burned, broken and sacked, and the criminals left him dying sitting by a rock. Arya and Sandor approached him while you stayed on your horse. The man explained what happened. Sandor gave the man some water and ended his suffering.

“That’s where the heart is.” He showed it to Arya.

As he walked back a man jumped from behind him and bit his neck. That man was quickly killed, but the damage was done. Another one approached

“You’re The Hound! There’s a fat bounty on your head.”

“And you think you’re gonna collect it?” He knew that man didn’t stand a chance.

“That’s the man that said he would fuck me bloody if he saw me again.” Arya said taking out her sword.

A few seconds later he was dead. Arya has come a long way, you thought to yourself.

As you made camp now close the hills of the Eyrie, you could see how he was struggling with the wound on his neck.

“You have to do something about it or it’s gonna get infected.” Arya started.

“No fire.” He said quietly. She continued to grab a piece of burning log and walk towards him.

“It’s gonna be quick I pro—“

“No fire!” He yelled.

“At least let me clean and sew it.” You tried to convince him. He nodded while still looking away from you both.

You grabbed a little bag that you carried on your horse and walked back to him. You put some of his hair away and started by cleaning his neck with alcohol. Your bodies standing close to each other while you took care of him gave you a calming sensation. He felt the same, he had a strong wish to hold you, but he would never make the first move.

“You said your brother gave you that sword? My brother gave me this!” He looked at Arya as he pointed to the right side of his face. You started carefully using the needle to close the wound while listening to the story of how his brother burned him for playing with one of his toys. You finished stitching him up and put on an ointment to help with the healing.

“The worst part is was my brother who did it.” He commented.

“Your brother is a monster…” You mumbled quietly thinking he wouldn’t hear you. He looked up at you realizing you just showed him your empathy.

“It’s all done, you should feel better now. I stitched it and added this natural ointment I made a while ago. It’s good for helping the skin heal, from cuts, scratches, burns…” He looked up at you.

He didn’t thank you. He was not very verbally expressive, but you could tell a lot from his actions and body language.

You finally could spot the Eyrie from where you were and you made. You walked down the path to the Bloody Gate and both Arya and Sandor seemed to be talking like long-time friends. It was interesting to see how their relationship developed, but yours seemed like it stayed the same somehow.

“Who would pass the Bloody Gate?” The guard announced

“The Bloody Hound, Sandor Clegane and his… travel companions, Lady Arya Stark, niece of Lady Arryn and Lady Sabrina Arryn, daughter of the deceased Lord Jon Arryn.” He responded.

“Then I would like to offer my condolences, Lady Arryn and her son Robin died... three days ago.” The guard explained. There was silence for a few seconds.

“If what you say is true then I am the new Lady Arryn.” You stepped forward.

“Unfortunately my Lady, there’s someone else in charge of The Eyrie.” The guard seemed to also not like that situation.

“And who might that be?” You were confused.

“Lord Baelish.” The guard responded.

There was a dry silence that later was filled with Aryas laugh. Laughing at her own misery. You were taken with anger pulled out your dagger and stepped towards the guard only to have Sandor holding back.

“It’s not worth it.” He looked at you. You knew he was right, but the frustration was just too high.

“Listen, take Arya back to camp and wait for me there, I need to go get my dogs. I’ll meet you there by nightfall.” You told him and left.

Luckily most animals were kept on the sides of the bloody gate, since it was the flatter land. You watched as the two of them walked back. You quietly made your way to the stables and found four of your dogs near the horses.

“What happened to the rest of the dogs?” You asked a passing stable boy.

“Lady Arryn got rid of them a long time ago. They scared Lord Robin.”

“What did she do to them?” You knew, but you needed to confirm it.

“She fed them milk of the poppy. They never woke up again. These ones didn’t eat it, we kept them here because they keep the rats away.”

You thanked the gods that you had started herb training with the four them before you left. They understood they shouldn’t eat that and it saved them.

Once you opened the stable doors they ran to you. Jumping, happy crying, tail wagging and licking your face. You missed your kids. You tested to see if they still knew their commands, and they were perfect. They were the smarter ones who were chosen to start a harder training that saved their life. Two boys Desert and Forest, and two girls, Rain and River. You regretted not training the others. But at least you were together now.

[chussyracing]

what has been happening in the world of motorsports in the last few days

PSA: this has gotten very long, so I divided it into sections and put it under the cut

FIA and F1 figures:

Jon Monchaux becomes new FIA single seater technical director

Horner had almost a full day lasting hearing on Friday to defend himself and now there are multiple rumours flying around about him being advised to step down, about Ecclestone getting involved and about the way it probably won't be resolved soon, he was also present at the team's shakedown yesterday and is expected to be at the car launch today as well

Team car launches and news:

Sauber had their shakedown as a first car this year on 10th Feb, followed by Haas on 11th Feb with Hulk in the car, then RB, Ferrari, Merc, McLaren and RBR

Williams:

Williams will do their shakedown in Bahrain to avoid quote unpredictable British weather unquote before pre season testing

there are rumours of Red Bull making first option offer to Alex when he leaves Williams (which could be earlier using an exit clause or after the contract runs out)

Aston Martin:

Aston Martin showed the new suits and livery for 2024 (personal opinion the suits look better than when Alpinestars made them, but the livery somehow looks worse with slightly different shade of green, more black and the colorful Aramco on the rear wing)

Fernando also spoke more about Lewis' team change and his own links to Mercedes which were strengtened after a pic was posted of his manager Briatore at a café with Toto Wolff (but the rumours about Kimi Antonelli going for that seat are perhaps even louder with Karun Chandhok speaking to F3 engineers who insisted he is the most talented driver they worked with since Max Verstappen)

Ferrari:

then Ferrari showed their car in 99 seconds with a short footage starting of with Monza 2019 and as opposed to current trend of stripping the paint, they added more of it, so even part of the front and rear wing is now red (there are some technical analysis out there if you search, but interesting thing to note is Ferrari seemingly being the only team with pull rod rear suspension)

there are many rumours about Fred Vasseur's full wallet (Fred if you see this and need a sugar baby, let me know) and who else he wants to hire, and although he may be looking at Adrian Newey, among the potential changes in Red Bull he is apparently trying to hire Pierre Waché who is said to be the main person behind the dominant Red Bull cars these days with Newey working more as an advisor - this comes from Gazzetta dello Sport so again, not super reliable but apparently Waché already discussed his potential salary in Ferrari

speaking of Fred Vasseur, he said the call to Carlos was difficult but the call to Toto was much worse for him (bromance over </3)

Sky sports also chatted with both Ferrari drivers where Carlos said he was told a few weeks before Lewis was announced that he was out of seat so it didn't come as a shock, while Charles said obviously they texted with Lewis because those things aren't done overnight and Ferrari also told him they are trying to sign Lewis, so he was onboard with the plan before signing his own contract extension, he also said after the shakedown that it's hard to say when you are alone on the track but the car feels much healtier than last year

this is not super reliable but apparently Ferrari focused on long term plans and with how 2023 went, there was already focus on 2024 since they even left out two update packages to push more resources towards this year and rumouredly they are already working on 2025 car, so next year they could use most of time and resources for 2026 and be ready for new regs

fair warning that Ferrari also extended and strenghtened the sponsorship from Celsius drink and some news pages tried to make a clickbait of it

McLaren:

McLaren were next to show their car although we already saw it after their surprise rebrand

Lando admitted they are purposedly hiding some parts with the camera angles they are showing

Oscar mentioned that at least they showed the car before going on track (probably trying to make fun of RBR)

Mercedes:

then Mercedes showed their car which is both silver and black, but also features red details like Niki's star

Allison shared interesting details about the way remaking both chassis and gearbox fully under the cost cap rules takes a toll on the team

from first analysis, it features some interesting technical details like detached front wing element joined to the nose by a wire and different aerial placement than any other team

speaking of Allison, he extended his contract with Mercedes as a reaction to being approached by Aston Martin

Alpine:

Bruno Famin said that Alpine's power unit is still lacking horse power in comparison to others this year, but will try to reduce the gap in other ways

Red Bull:

Red Bull Racing will launch their car/livery today but we already saw some pics/videos from yesterday's shakedown and it looks like the car is very slim and perhaps inspired by Merc's no pods philosophy

like Max said previously, from the pics the livery seems to be very much the same as usual

Haas:

Haas already posted their line up for preseason testing

Junior series and drivers:

Tuesday was the last day of f3 and f2 testing in Bahrain, it was raining a lot at first (so d2 drivers only had one session and later were allowed to test with f3 cars) and some were hit with bad reliability (pray for my boy Staněk who did half or less laps than anyone else)

reminder that results aren't too relevant for testing, but for those interested here are F2 testing results: Sunday 1. Hauger, 2. Maloney, 3. Martins; Monday 1. Maloney, 2. Crawford, 3. Fittipaldi; Tuesday 1. Maloney, 2. Crawford, 3. Miyata

and here are the F3 results: Sunday 1. Leon, 2. Goethe, 3. Tramnitz; Monday 1. Browning, 2. Dunne, 3. Tramnitz; Tuesday 1. Beganovic, 2. Leon, 3. Browning

F1 Academy had their first driver development meeting

3 of the F1 Academy drivers are also a part of Formula Winter Series which had first race weekend with 3 races and they had the following results: Race 1: p17 Carrie Schreiner, p29 Lia Block, p35 Bianca Bustamante; Race 2: p26 Bianca Bustamante, p29 Carrie Schreiner, p30 Lia Block; Race 3: p25 Carrie Schreiner, p30 Bianca Bustamante, p35 Lia Block

Aston Martin signed Jak Crawford as their junior driver after Red Bull let him go from their junior programme

Fred Vesti will be Mercedes' reserve driver in 2024 alongside Mick Schumacher

new electric junior series NXT Gen Cup was established

Other race series and events:

Lewis' Extreme E team x44 (and Chip Ganassi team) won't be a part of this years championship, it is also the series' last year before they change to Extreme H (standing for hydrogen)

Imola planned an event to commemorate the anniversary of passing of Senna and Ratzenberger

Netflix posted teaser and cover pics (or something?) for their latest season of DTS

From fans perspective:

Lewis posted a dump and also blessed us with Roscoe dump

it's George's birthday today

Charles partnered with Sofiane Pamart to release his first ep with 4 compositions: Focus, Heartbeat, Limitless and The Dream Continues

make sure to check out the new helmets drivers are presenting (personal opinion: Guanyu and Pierre have the best ones and I got a bit teary eyed over the fact that Charles added jb17 to the top of his helmet while keeping jules at the back of the helmet too)

Interesting stats and data:

McLaren will have 52 sponsors this season

in 2025 Ferrari will become only 2nd team in history (adfter Mercedes) to have both 7 times world champions on the team

Andretti knew their bid was rejected since December 2023 and still spoke to the media about their facilities and model car in the wind tunnel etc (not sure what exactly is the purpose but it's interesting nonetheless)

[youngveinsworld]

why they're called ... young veins

from a spin magazine article:

Why Young Veins: “At first, when we were throwing around names in the studio, we wanted to call the band the Veins,” recalls vocalist-guitarist Ryan Ross, “but there was already a band called that. So we just called it the Young Veins. We liked the ‘fresh blood’ connotation. But really the name is a Spinal Tap reference. There’s a part where the band is talking about when they were starting out. They were going to call themselves the Originals but that name was taken, so they call themselves the New Originals instead. So we’re sort of just playing off the idea of adding an adjective in front of a band name that already exists.”

Previously Rejected Names: “We thought about calling ourselves the New Things. We also thought the Band Names would’ve been funny.”

Best Band Names Ever: “The Chills. We wanted to use that one, too, but another band beat us to the punch by, like, thirty years. The Like is another good one, and not just because that’s the band my girlfriend [Elizabeth Berg] plays in.”

Worst Band Name Ever: “I don’t know if it’s the worst, but the Beatles is a pretty bad. It’s funny to think that the biggest band of all time has a name based on a bad pun. Maybe it was cool at the time.”

from an interview jon did for popmatters:

[The band name] comes from two weeks of us in the studio throwing out names because we had to decide on one before we could release a song.

from an MTV article:

It seems neither Ross nor Walker can come up with a thoroughly awesome handle for their new band (they thought about "The Guts," but decided it was "too punk" for their liking), and the problem was getting so bad that Ross flat-out asked me for my help: "If you've got any good band names," he laughed. "Send 'em to me."

I'll admit it: I sort of froze. I have about a million awesome band names floating around in my head at any given moment (Like "Weed Dragon" — just came up with that one right now), but when put on the spot, I couldn't come up with a single one. Naturally, I felt kind of bad about it. I didn't want to let good ol' R.R. down.

Of course, now having a few days to think about it, I've come up with no less than three-dozen killer band names for Ross's new group (thanks, L'esprit de l'escalier), so I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't reveal some of them here. Perhaps RyRo will read this and see something that will catch his eye. So, with apologies, here are my picks:

» Panic? at the Disco » Flaco y Melenudo » (Not) The Beatles » Bongzilla » The Jon (and not) Spencer (or Brendon) Blues Explosion » R.Y.R.O. Speedwagon » No Use For A Name » Jon's Addiction » The Beets

and another MTV article:

Ross e-mailed MTV News late Monday night to make the announcement, which came two weeks to the day after he told us that he and Walker were at a loss for just what to call their new retro-leaning band. (Of course, we tried to help out the best we could.)

"We're going with the Young Veins," Ross wrote. "I hope you'll check us out."

For a time, they were also thinking about "the Guts," but decided it was "too punk" for their liking. Young Veins is a fitting name, one that sounds like it could've been lifted off one of the old Stax 45s from which Ross said he and Walker drew influence.

side note about it being a literary reference:

from what jon and ryan said in the above interviews it seems to have been a random decision to call the band the young veins. however, it is interesting to know that the novel 'the last man' by mary shelley (author of frankenstein) contains this passage:

"Yet the last events that marked our progress through France were so full of strange horror and gloomy misery, that I dare not pause too long in the narration. If I were to dissect each incident, every small fragment of a second would contain an harrowing tale, whose minutest word would curdle the blood in thy young veins."

[personinthepalace]

You're so right. I love that mischief has gotten big enough to get huge stars involved but I would like to read/see 1 article about PPGW that isn't solely enamored with nph

Anon, I was just ranting about this with some people in the Mischief server haha. And I've been upset about this huge celebrity promotion ever since they first brought tptgw to broadway back in 2017.

Like yes it is cool that they could get huge names involved in their broadway shows. JJ Abrams became a producer and helped to bring tptgw to Broadway. But then literally all the interviews were about JJ Abrams. And of course the interviewers would ask him questions about Star Wars instead of focusing on Mischief Theatre or tptgw itself. We're seeing a similar trend now with Neil Patrick Harris (who btw has extended his run to May 7th). The promos and interviews are about him and not the actual show itself.

And yes I know the reason for these big names is to bring in audiences and thus revenue, but it is quite annoying that Mischief themselves are barely getting any recognition themselves. I guess part of the problem is that Mischief shows are ensemble shows so there are no "main leads" to send out and do all the promos like most shows have. But Hen, Shields, and Jon could easily be the ones doing the promotions since they are the writers and heads of the show and company respectively. They should be promoting themselves so that the general audience could get to know them by name instead of "those funny british people." Their established fanbase + bringing in a celeb can't be their only marketing strategy

Also with NPH, it has the added injury that he is replacing Harry Kershaw who originated the role. Mischief fans (like me) are going out of their way to see the show for the original cast (also I have a side rant about that but that's for another time haha) but end up getting NPH instead of Harry himself. If they announced this way beforehand then it would have been fine but this unexpected announcement came as quite a surprise. Harry has gotten the short hand of the stick already in the BBC special where they had David Suchet to play the role of the narrator

Though someone did suggest an interesting idea if Mischief wants to continue this stunt casting. Mischief could get some big name (some suggestions include Christian Borle and David Tennant) to play as themselves in ppgw each week (similar to David Suchet in the BBC special). So they get a monologue similar to Suchet but related to their own work But it is a mystery guest so that would make people want to go see the show just to see who they get. And then Harry has another role (he could reprise his role as BBC guy) and/or he continue playing the Narrator once a week.

But of course this is an idea I could get behind if they promoted it from the beginning and don't make it the sole focus of their advertising of the show

Anyway this has gotten way longer and rambly then I intended haha but in short yes the constant advertisement of the celebrity instead of Mischief themselves is VERY annoying

[cyarskj1899]

25 Essential Black-Metal Albums

From Venom and Bathory to Behemoth and Deafheaven

From its origins in England, Sweden, and Switzerland to its murderous Norwegian prime and its U.S. resurgence, black-metal has proven harder to extinguish than a fire consuming a church. And while sensational violence and a flirtation with the occult have often threatened to eclipse the genre's artistic merits, it is ultimately the music that has given this dark practice its longevity. Here, Revolver picks 25 albums that define the malefic movement. 

(Black Mark, 1984) This cult Swedish studio band took the lo-fi shittiness of Venom and added icy Norse paganism to the garbled mix. Written and coproduced by vocalist-guitarist Quorthon (who died in 2004), Bathory's homonymous debut also features drummer Jonas Åkerlund, who went on to direct videos for both Madonna and U2 (plus the 2002 crystal meth flick Spun), not to mention the forthcoming controversial Lords of Chaos movie.   

(Noise, 1984) Before vocalist-guitarist Tom G. Warrior formed Celtic Frost with bassist Martin Ain, he was the leader of another Swiss metal trio called Hellhammer. Though the band existed for less than two years, the harsh cacophony of the Apocalyptic Raids demo perfectly expressed black metal's caustic furor.

(Peaceville, 1991) This Norwegian duo's second album marks drummer-lyricist Fenriz and vocalist-guitarist Nocturno Culto's defection from the traditional death-metal territory of Soulside Journey to the chilling realm of "unholy black metal."

(Misanthropy, 1992) The debut by Burzum, the one-man studio project of J.R.R. Tolkien aficionado Varg Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnackh), was originally released on Mayhem guitarist Euronymous' Deathlike Silence Productions. Remarkable for its militaristic severity and creepy synth ambience, Burzum remains one of black metal's earliest masterpieces.

(Century Black, 1993) Also originally released on Deathlike Silence, De Mysteriis was Mayhem's scorching full-length follow-up to the seminal Deathcrush mini-LP. The album features longtime drummer Hellhammer, current vocalist Attila Csihar (ex-Tormentor, ex-Aborym), and Burzum's Varg Vikernes (on session bass), who would stab guitarist Euronymous to death shortly after the album's release.

(Cacophonous, 1994) Back when vocalist Dani Filth was still known as Daniel Davey, British goth ghouls Cradle of Filth unveiled their full-length debut — complete with elaborate keyboard intros, female backing vocals, and naked vampire chicks. Taking said formula to its baroque breaking point over following releases, CoF rose to be possibly the most well-known band in black metal (if you considered them "black metal" at all), not to mention a onetime personal favorite of Bam Margera.

(Candlelight, 1995) Emperor's full-length debut — and final recording with drummer/convicted murderer Bård "Faust" Eithun, In the Nightside Eclipsemarked the beginning of symphonic black metal, a style later spit-polished and propelled into the mainstream by Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir.

(Nuclear Blast, 1995) Led by guitarist-vocalist Jon Nödtveidt, Gothenburg's Dissection blurred the line between black metal and the melodic death metal their Swedish city made famous. The band's second album was their last (and finest) riff blizzard before Nödtveidt was imprisoned for murder.

(Nuclear Blast, 1996) Long before they dragged their chain-mail-encased tits onto Ozzfest's main stage, Dimmu Borgir announced made their symphonic bid to dominate Norwegian underground with Stormblåst. The native-tongued LP was rerecorded in 2005, only increasing its original frostbitten grimness. 

(Osmose, 1996) Although they have suffered chronic touring setbacks due to vocalist-guitarist Morgan Håkansson's felonious history (which allegedly includes assaulting a police officer and grave robbery), black-metal berserkers Marduk know how to throw down in the studio. On Heaven Shall Burn, the Swedes unleash a blast of unapologetic blasphemy captured devilishly by producer (and Hypocrisy main man) Peter Tägtgren.

(Century Media, 1997) Although the band would take a severe turn into proggy histrionics (see 2005's Blood Inside), Ulver's third full-length — a savagely shrill concept album about werewolves (subtitle: Eight Hymns to the Wolf in Man) that was supposedly recorded outdoors in an ancient Norwegian forest — could turn any mere man into a murderous beast

(Nuclear Blast, 1998) Four years in the making, Gorgoroth's fourth effort borrows the title of Kiss' 1976 album, boasts four different vocalists (sensing a pattern here?) — including their particularly notorious former frontman, Gaahl — and features guest drumming from Satyricon's Frost. Unrelenting from front to back, Destroyer closes with a cover of Darkthrone's "Slottet I Det Fjerne."

(Nuclear Blast, 1999) Widely discounted by apparently deaf journalists as some sort of goth/industrial crossover release, Rebel Extravaganza sounds more like a black-metal version of Voivod than anything else. Satyricon's fourth album is not just another underappreciated sonic blitzkrieg, it's actually Phil Anselmo-approved: Pantera tapped the band to open their 2000 European tour.

(tUMULt, 2000) In 2000, Weakling created a world all their own with Dead as Dreams, following in the footsteps of early Emperor, Ulver and Burzum to create moving, beautiful black metal that crossed over into ambient and post-rock. Hands down one of the most important USBM (U.S. black metal) LPs of all time, highly influential to the likes of Wolves in the Throne Room and Deafheaven, the group's lone full-length is also a crucial release for black metal at large.

(Century Media, 2001) On their fifth album, this Japanese trio (now a quartet) shed their corpse paint but not their insatiable appetite for increasingly progressive black-metal. Imaginary Sonicscape revels in the pleasures of magic mushrooms, evil moog keyboards, and dizzying arrangements; plus, the lyrics to "Nietzschean Conspiracy" were written by then-imprisoned Emperor drummer Faust.

(Nuclear Blast, 2002) Since reissued with a bonus live DVD, the seventh album from Norwegian power triad Immortal is practically unstoppable. Produced by Peter Tägtgren, Sons of Northern Darkness combines fierce riffery with a Maiden-esque sense of epic dynamism. (Fun fact: One of the band's promotional photos for this release mistakenly caught guitarist-vocalist Abbath with his fly down.)

(Moribund, 2004) The one-man plague of professional tattoo artist Jef Whitehead (a.k.a. Wrest), Leviathan are the vanguard of the American isolationist black-metal phenomenon. Whitehead's second full-length under the Leviathan moniker, Tentacles is a vicious display of lo-fi pyrokinesis that takes its cues from the Burzum back catalog.

(Moribund, 2004) Another one-man outfit, L.A.'s Xasthur is the brainchild of Scott Conner, a.k.a. Malefic, also known for his live guest "vo-kills" with sub-harmonic drone overlords Sunn O))). The bleak psychedelic hellscapes that bleed black through each of his many LPs, EPs, and splits are at their most unsettling on this, Xasthur's fourth full-length.

(Ajna Offensive, 2005) Little is known about this reclusive French posse; the band refuses almost all interview requests. But Kénôse is one of the most powerful, ideologically intriguing black-metal releases in the history of forever. Ominous and brooding, the hypnotic fury of the album's three epic tracks is matched only by its enigmatic artwork.

(Candlelight, 2005) Along with Darkthrone, the reunited Emperor, Varg Vikernes and the surviving members of Mayhem, Enslaved are the last of Norway's living black-metal O.G.s. Their Grammy-winning eighth album is a rousing Viking feast that makes you wanna burn and pillage all the way to Valhalla — and proof that these originators are still well ahead of most of the pack.

(Total Holocaust, 2005) Much like Varg Vikernes did through Burzum's experimentation with keyboards, Leviathan's Jef Whitehead (re)established black metal as not just a sound, but a feeling and approach, with his project Lurker of Chalice and its sole, self-titled offering. Wildly inventive, employing everything from electronic samples to wind chimes and chorus vocals, the album proves that all the chilling darkness of the subgenre can be conjured without a lo-fi tremolo riff.

(Season of Mist, 2007) Despite their infamous penchant for literal mid-set bloodbaths, the Swedish pyromaniacs Watain have always been a band defined by sharp songcraft, not just provocative showmanship. Case in point: Sworn to the Dark, which saw the Satanic firebrands culling from thrash, hard rock, prog and dark ambient to deliver one of the most stylistically diverse black-metal albums of the 2000s.

(Metal Blade, 2013) While their music arguably leans more death metal, these Polish blasphemers' explicitly Satanic philosophical stance and corpse-paint-and-hellfire onstage presentation clearly place them within the black-metal movement. Behemoth's comeback album after frontman Nergal's near-fatal battle with Leukemia, The Satanist stands as a majestic and vital (re)statement of intent.

(Deathwish, 2013) Deafheaven's sophomore LP Sunbatherrepresented a true paradigm shift in black metal both in its aesthetics and attitudes, from its pink album cover to its sunny riffage. Indeed, the first notes of "Dream House" evoke something not often heard in the genre: a feeling of optimism. Sunbather leaned on the creativity of bands past, but took it next level, embracing elements of shoegaze, post-rock and screamo in the way that hadn't been done before. But its greatest innovation may be the way the album rides on the belief that black metal doesn't have to be antisocial in spirit; indeed, it can come with open arms.

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