#Clark cause they have similar powers

[conflictofthemind]

TL;DR: HNL was studying how to give human subjects electromagnetic, most specifically visible light based, powers in order to bend space-time for their needs.

I’m going to try and condense this as much as I can because considering electromagnetism as a major force in ST (pun intended) opens up so many potential areas of analysis that can only be a brief cover of without turning into multiple essays.

Let’s go over the electromagnetic spectrum:

I hope you might already be recognizing some symbols we see often in Stranger Things, especially if you’ve been following the BTS and some location and set leaks from Season 5.

The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses the different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation - waves of energy that travel at the speed of light (and produce visible light to us at certain frequencies). You’ve probably heard of most of these, including cancer-causing gamma rays and x-rays, the visible light spectrum (the rainbow), microwaves, and radio waves.

In S5, we have the radio station as a main location for the characters. They’re also driving around in the radio station’s van, which has an image of a hawk emitting a rainbow (visible light radiation). Steve’s car also has a massive antenna on top of it. My first thoughts were that the team was trying to keep in contact with Max in hopes of her being able to hear them in her coma, considering she has a radio near her bedside. While that still may be a reason, I think the characters may have come to realize how important electromagnetic fields could be in their fight against Vecna (this where leader of the AV Club also focused on electromagnetic objects Scott Clarke may make his triumphant return).

Now to pivot onto why electromagnetism is so important to the lore of ST:

What the scientists in Hawkins Lab are likely studying is a way for human brains to produce or manipulate certain types of electromagnetic waves through telepathy. Most obviously this is seen by them having the kids try to manipulate and turn on a circle of light bulbs. Our brains actually already produce electromagnetic waves, but at a very slow frequency. The scientists are constantly measuring brain waves while conducting these experiments. We even get full shots of El’s brain waves during NINA, for example. We also see similar shots in S2 while Will is in the HNL.

You can also observe that the Hawkins National Laboratory has absolutely massive satellite dishes on it’s rooftop; ones that do not exist on the real life building but are added in post because they pose some sort of significance. Nudge, it’s because they are transmitting and receiving massive amounts of electromagnetic waves.

Why are they studying electromagnetic waves then?

They are studying electromagnetic waves because they are a method in which time travel can theoretically be achieved - the focus of the Montauk Project in which Stranger Things is based on. The military likely is investigating time travel as another war tactic against Russia.

Let us take a look at the first chapter of the Montauk Project: Experiments in Time book (they are seriously plagiarizing the living hell out of this thing):

Also, did you catch the whole 'attaching a massive antenna on the hood of my car to pick up a secret signal' thing? That's suspiciously similar to the state of Steve's car! Anyway...

The story of Stranger Things starts chronologically, as does Montauk, with the disappearance of the USS Eldridge and Project Rainbow (named after the bending of the visible light spectrum). Brenner’s father was revealed to have captained the boat in TFS, which disappeared for 12 hours into Dimension X and when it came back, the crew was killed or driven mad (except for Brenner Sr). This inspires Brenner to continue onto the Nevada project, and eventually, Hawkins National Lab’s studies. The USS Eldridge / Philadelphia Project conspiracy from real life went as follows:

They were studying electromagnetism, specifically the bending of light, to make objects invisible. This was only the first step in the experiments. Once Henry got involved and came back from his trip to Dimension X with powers, Brenner must have realized he could potentially use human subjects to manipulate electromagnetic fields themselves. Human subjects didn’t require machinery or set up and could bend space-time wherever they pleased, as long as they were able to learn the ability.

The more conspiratiorial side of Theoretical Physics proposes using circulating light beams to warp time-space, creating a wormhole in which one can literally walk through time. This is pop-science, likely not true but interesting for fiction purposes. This method of time travel being used is heavily implied due to the fact that the USS Eldridge was already able to disappear into another dimension by the bending of light.

This is how it worked in the Montauk Project book (absolutely ridiculous how much they took from this honestly):

My guess is that in the Stranger Things universe, they have not yet managed to time travel, only to create portals into this alien Dimension X. Previously, said portals were only made twice by highly advanced technological equipment. El demonstrated that she was able to open a portal all by herself - another step to achieving time travel with singular human subjects. Season five is when we will see the beginning of the time travel plot line, though it like in Montauk is likely already in a loop.

That’s where we get the name for the Rainbow Room, named after this Project Rainbow. The rainbow represents the full spectrum of visible light, and the goals of the project to bend said light into portals and eventually time travel wormholes.

Implications?:

-Well, first of all it seems very obvious by this point that we are going for a time travel plot line, and this is how it will be achieved.

-Will is heavily connected to light in general, the sun, and of course… the rainbow. He is also implied be the one involved in the time travel plot line. This will be very relevant going forward and deserves it’s own post. Potential funniness of defeating Vecna with the power of the rainbow afoot.

-Coma patients are known to have odd, barely detectable brain waves. The kids will be able to communicate with Max in her coma using the electromagnetic spectrum somehow, probably through the radio waves.

-On the farthest end of the spectrum, we have ionizing gamma ray radiation, which is known to cause cancer in humans. Expect Hopper’s daughter Sara to connect to this plot line (and perhaps Sam Owens’ dead son). There is a whole theory on this site already called radiationgate. I have not managed to look into it yet but I think they are probably onto something there. The original al pitch mentions the UD leakage into the real world causing cancer as well.

[pigeonflavouredcake]

Miscellaneous Laws and Philosophies

This is another grimoire extract featuring a compiled list of philosophies, paradoxes, laws of life and physics.

Some of these might be particularly helpful to your practice if you wish to apply them, for example the philosophy of similarity or Newton's laws of motion. Or perhaps you’re like me and just find them interesting to list -some of these, I will admit, I chose to include for a bit of a giggle.

-Absurdism: The philosophical theory that life is absurd with no meaning or higher purpose and can not be understood by reason.

-Acton’s Dictum: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.

-Backwards Law: The harder you try the less likely you are to succeed. In psychology, this is also called the ironic process theory.

-Brandolini's Law: The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than the amount it took to produce it.

-Buttered Cat Paradox: Cats always land on their feet. Buttered toast always lands butter side down. If you tape a slice of buttered toast to a cat what will happen when you drop them?

-Catch-22: A situation in which someone is in need of something that can only be had by not being in need of it.

-Clarke's Laws:

The Old Scientist: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, they are almost certainly right. When they say that something is impossible they are very probably wrong.

Possibility: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little ways past them into the impossible.

Magic: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

-Finagle's Law: An addition to Murphy’s law “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” will at the worst possible moment.

-Gibson's Law: For every PhD there is an equal and opposite PhD.

-Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Or, do not invoke conspiracy as explanation when ignorance and incompetence will suffice, as conspiracy implies intelligence.

-Hedonism: A group of philosophical theories centred around pursuing and defining pleasure, referring to both large activities like sex or recreational drugs and small activities like reading a good book or watching a sunset.

-Humphrey’s Law: Conscious attention to a task normally performed automatically can hinder its performance.

-Ironic Process Theory: The psychological process whereby an individual’s deliberate attempts to suppress certain thoughts makes those thoughts more persistent.

-Lem’s Law: No one reads; if someone does read, they do not understand, if they do understand, they immediately forget.

-Muphry’s Law: If you write anything criticising, editing, or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written (the name is a purposeful misspelling of Murphy's law).

-Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

-Newton’s Flaming Laser Sword: What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.

-Newton’s Laws of Motion:

Law of Inertia: Objects will stay in rest or in motion unless an outside force causes a change.

F = ma: Force = mass x acceleration meaning the acceleration of an object depends on the object's mass and the force acting upon it.

Action and Reaction: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction meaning when two objects meet each other they apply force to one another that are equal in magnitude but in the opposite direction.

-Nihilism: Based on the rejection of religious and moral principles and the belief that life is meaningless. Many people see nihilism as depressing and nihilistic people as miserable and annoying, that may be true for some but nihilism also provides the freedom to create and express yourself without social boundaries. There are two types of nihilists: those who say “life is meaningless so why bother?” and those who say “life is meaningless so why not?”.

-Occam's Razor: The philosophical principle that the simplest explanation is usually the best one. When presented with two competing hypotheses that have the same prediction, one should choose the hypothesis with the least variables and assumptions.

-Papert’s Principle: Some of the most crucial steps in mental growth are based not simply on acquiring news skills, but on acquiring new administrative ways to use what one already knows.

-Paradox of Hedonism: When one pursues happiness itself, one is miserable; but, when one pursues something else, one achieves happiness.

-Philosophy of Similarity: Based on the degree of resemblance objects have to one another using their shared properties. This is built on recognising certain patterns like colour or taste and then comparing them to others.

-Rothbard’s Law: Everyone specialises in their own area of weakness.

-Sagan Standard: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

-Solipsism: The philosophical view that the self or the mind is the only thing that is known to exist and anything outside of that is unsure and undefined.

-Stein's Law: If something can not go on forever, it will stop. If a trend can not go on forever, there is no need to make it stop, much less make it stop immediately; it will stop of its own accord.

[minnesota-fats]

I know Phantom Planet is...spicy in this fandom but something just occurred to me. A glowing green meteor that harms ghosts came from space. Kryptonite, a glowing green rock that can also be many colors came from SPACE.

Like what's the inverse thing for that? A freak coincidence? Or is there some connection?

If Clark touched Ectoranium, would it hurt him too? Or would Danny touching Kryptonite hurt him?

I remember making that connection when i was a kid when i first saw Phantom Planet. (Least favorite episode EVER)

I don’t know enough lore of Kryptonite to really say anything about it in comparison to Ectoranium but i feel they would have the same radiation effects due to long exposure. Like in the Justice league cartoon Lex got cancer from carrying Kryptonite for so long just to keep Superman away. I feel like the same would happen with Ectoranium if someone had constant contact with it.

But an even better similarity that I found is the Phantom Zone and the Ghost Zone!

Like both are enter inter dimentional planes of existence where people exist (sort of). Like the Phantom Zone is a inter dimentional space prison that Khryptonians made to house the most dangerous criminals in existence (and just some guy named the Prankster who is just some dude that plays jokes to steal shit also Louis Lane from the future) where the Ghost Zone is the land of the dead and so on where ghosts just exist.

My theory is that the part of the Zone that is the Phantom Zone is an uninhabited part of the zone that is more purplely and has denser ectoplasm and its harder for both Ghosts and Living alike to navigate, doesn’t mean its impossible but most ghosts just don’t bother besides the few that are accustomed to it. I also like to think that when the Krypton’s started to use the infinite realms as a prison, whatever ghost in power—maybe the ancients because i feel Pariah was imprisoned before that—set some more barbaric and feral ghosts, like Behemoths to guard the border just so the humans imprisoned there wouldn’t try and cause any damage to the Zone as a whole.

Im currently writing a Brain Dead (Danny x Tim) fic where the JL think Danny is too much of a threat and try to lock him away in the Phantom Zone only for Danny to be like, “ha y’all thought!”

[sebeth]

Who's Who In The DC Universe: Batman of Earth-One and the Batman of Earth-Two

Batman of Earth-Two by Dave Gibbons & Batman of Earth-One by Dick Giordano

Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman had versions on Earth-One and Earth-Two, mainly due to being members of the Justice Society and the Justice League. Other heroes like the Flash (Jay Garrick/Barry Allen) and Green Lantern (Alan Scott/Hal Jordan) were separate individuals using the same identity on different earths while the Trinity were always Bruce, Clark, and Diana.

The easiest way to cover the Batman entries would be to start with the similarities:

Both Batmen are named Bruce Wayne and hail from Gotham City

Parents were named Thomas and Martha Wayne

Both have an uncle named Philip Wayne

Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered by Joe Chill after leaving a movie theater. A traumatized Bruce witnessed the murders.

Bruce spent his formative years developing his mind and body to perfection.

Bruce adopted the Batman identity. A large bat crashing through a den in Wayne Manor inspired the creation of the Batman.

At first Batman had a rocky relationship with the police but later formed a partnership with Jim Gordon

Bruce took the recently orphaned Dick Grayson under his wing. Dick later became Robin the Boy Wonder.

And now, the details unique to each version:

Earth-Two:

While Thomas was shot by Joe Chill (causing his death), the shock of seeing his death caused Martha to have a fatal heart attack.

Bruce was placed under the guardianship of his Uncle Phillip who raised him to adulthood.

Bruce moved back into Wayne Manor after coming into his inheritance.

Batman carried a gun in his first few cases but soon gave it up.

He was a charter member of the Justice Society and the All-Star Squadron.

He maintained his playboy image until the late 1950s, when he married Selina Kyle (Catwoman).

He semi-retired the Batman identity once he reached middle age and became the Gotham City Police Commissioner upon Jim Gordon’s retirement.

Bruce and Selena had a daughter named Helena.

Selina died at the hands of a former criminal colleague, inspiring Helena to become the Huntress. Bruce gave up the Batman identiy entirely after Selina’s death.

A year after the debut of the Huntress, Bruce donned the Batman uniform for the final time. He died aiding the Justice Society, saving Gotham from a super-powered criminal.

Relatives unique to Earth-Two Bruce: Selina Kyle (wife), Helena Wayne (daughter), and Karl Kyle (brother-in-law).

Earth-One:

Relatives unique to Earth-One Bruce: Lord Elwood Wayne (uncle, deceased)

A young (pre-murders) Bruce Wayne admired a costume Thomas wore to a party. It would later inspire the creation of the Batman uniform.

Joe Chill was acting under the orders of Lew Moxon. Moxon was seeking revenge against Thomas Wayne as his testimony had sent Moxon to prison.

Bruce way placed under the care of his uncle Philip. Philip was a world-class traveler, so Bruce spent his formative years under the guidance of Philip’s housekeeper, Mrs. Chilton. Unknown to Bruce, Chilton was Joe Chill’s mother.

Bruce served an apprenticeship under Harvey Harris (the world’s foremost detective) while training to be Batman.

Frustrated by laws that seemed to help criminals more than their victims, Bruce left law school.

As on Earth-Two, Bruce took Dick Grayson under his wing. The difference being that Dick’s costume was inspired by the one Bruce wore while serving as an apprentice under Harvey Harris.

Bruce left his playboy image for a time and devoted himself to running Wayne Enterprises and building the Wayne Foundation into one of the world’s foremost philanthropic organizations. He later relinquished his day-to-day involvement in the organizations to devote more time to being Batman.

Bruce has recently become the guardian of Jason Todd, a young circus performer whose parents were murdered by Croc. Todd has since become the new Robin.

Batman, a founding member of the Justice League, has recently resigned due to a philosophical dispute over law and justice.

He has recently formed a new team called the Outsiders.

The next few entries are of Batman’s utility belt, the Batmobile, the Batplane, and the Batboat. Mostly drawings with some basic information.

Everybody knows Batman. Ask any non-comic book fans to name a superhero, and you have a ninety percent chance of the person responding with Batman. He’s had a bazillion comic books where he is the focus and has made millions of guest appearances in other comics. As for non-comic book media…he’s easily the most featured hero of all time. No one else comes close. Batman has starred in radio dramas, multiple movies and tv series, along with many cartoon series and animated movies. And numerous video games. Not to mention all the merchandising.

Whether you love or hate the character, if you were to make a list of the top 100 super-heroes of all time, you would have a hard time justifying not putting Batman in the #1 spot.

I love certain versions of Bruce (the bronze age, BTAS/DCAU, Justice League International, Young Justice cartoon, Wayne Family Adventures) and despise others (the majority of the 2000s).

As for the actual Who’s Who entries:

I miss the Bruce – Selina marriage. The cop-out during the King run was lame. And infuriating if you spent money on all the tie-in issues (which I did not).

I wish Helena would be born during curing continuity (I know adult Helena is running with the JSA but I want baby Helena just for the interactions with her bat-siblings).

If the “Bruce was placed under a housekeeper’s care while his guardian travelled the world” bit was canon in the post-Crisis era it would have been a great element to add to the Bruce-Tim Drake bond.

I don’t like the Dick’s costume was inspired by Bruce bit. Dick’s Robin indentiy is inspired by his parents only.

I hate Jason’s pre-Crisis origin. “He’s exactly like Dick but with red hair but we’ll dye it black” – that’s the best you could do, DC? Seriously?

[actuallyastingray]

Spiderman/DC crossovers

So i’ve noticed that whenever someone writes a crossover between Spiderman and DC in general, I notice that he’s always dropped in Gotham City. Granted, I can understand why. Batman and Spidey have similar origin stories. They both have the combination of brains, brawn, and technological edge that keeps them alive against criminals. Bruce already has 12+ kids, so he has experience taking in and housing other vigilantes. With the release of the MCU Spidey and Tony being his mentor/father figure, it’s not hard to realize that Bruce Wayne is the Tony Stark of DC and people want this to echo. That said, I like variety and I started thinking about what would happen if Spidey ended up in a different DC city. This is my personal take on what would occur. 

These would basically start with Peter getting zapped into another universe out of nowhere and has to make do. Also, I am not sticking with one specific incarnation of any characters (sorry MCU fanbase) but instead trying to create a character amalgam based on various depictions across comics, movies, and games. In other words, I am taking certain liberties with characters/locations, but considering this is all a total AU, I feel like I am entitled to do so.

Metropolis:

Spidey would likely start living in the Suicide Slums seeing as he can’t afford his own apartment yet. He’s grown up in New York (and SS is based of East Side NY) so having to deal with this lifestyle isn’t too hard for him.

He would make friends with his landlady, Natasha Irons, and her uncle pretty quick

Peter would try to apply at the Daily Planet for photography, using a resume that isn’t totally inaccurate but he’s hoping nobody goes looking to see if the Daily Bugle exists in this world

Perry wouldn’t hire him as a photographer, he’s got Jimmy already. He would more likely hire Peter as the on-site IT repairman and maintenance guy to keep the computers running and up to date. Pete is thrilled by this

Needless to say, despite losing his intended job, he still makes friends with Jimmy. Lois takes a bit of warming up, but she comes around eventually

Lois knows Peter is homeless (Ace reporter on the case) and she starts finding ways to help him out, like dragging him out to lunch with her and Jimmy or bringing him things from home. Peter promptly annoys her to death by insisting he’s alright and doesn’t need help.

Metropolis is a lot different from New York. Peter is pretty stunned the first time he debuts and gets praised and cheered on instead of scorned as a menace. It’s a bittersweet feeling that he had to get blasted into another universe in order to be appreciated

Most of the criminals are used to going up against Superman, so they have some serious power behind their punches. Spidey is very unused to not having to pull his own punches (cause Spiderman canonically has to hold back in order to not take someone's head off)

Inversely, there are a lot of superheroes as well. Supes and the Kryptofam aside, Metropolis has plenty of non-Kryptonian superheroes (Steel, Black Lightning, Booster Gold) so Spidey would definitely run into them and start making friends. I mean he’s already got the Metropolis red and blue down

Spidey would unintentionally start saving Lois, Jimmy, and Perry from danger just like Superman did during his early years. Clark is lowkey salty that Lois is teasing him about “switching out for a younger model”. 

Lex Luthor is also pretty steamed that he has to deal with ANOTHER superhero getting in his way. He would be privately impressed that Spiderman can handle most situations with brains over brawn as opposed to Superman, but a hero is a hero.

Jimmy is the first to find out Peter’s identity, mostly because he doesn’t have the “awkward reporter” identity on lock the dame way Clark does. 

Jimmy insists on being Spidey’s wingman, because hey he’s already Superman’s best buddy, why stop at one?

Lois is the second person to find out (mostly because she can always tell when Jimmy is lying to her). She is a little mad that someone else beat her to the finale, but she would by now have warmed up to the skinny IT nerd.

Clark is the last person to find out. He and Spiderman would meet somewhere on the rooftops and have a heart to heart. Peter feels safe venting to Supes about being from a different universe, and how he has been struggling to survive in a strange universe and being a good hero at the same time.

At this point, I feel the story would move out of a Metropolis/Superman crossover and into a full Justice League one because Supes is going to do his best to help Spidey get home. Thus, he needs to get the JL involved

Star City

I don’t know much about Star City’s layout, but I assume it is built like most cities in Northern California. Peter would likely find a low-income apartment and get a decent paying job to make ends meet.

At some point, he meets Roy Harper who just got back from rehab and finds that his old apartment is being rented out by a skinny little twerp who reminds him of Nightwing

For the record, as much as I liked New52 Roy with the Outlaws, I also enjoyed pre-52 Roy being a successful father and leader of the Outsiders. My take would be Roy just returning from a forced stint in rehab while Ollie and Dinah watch Lian. He didn’t exactly part with them on good terms and is afraid of what they and Lian with think of him.

Roy and Peter end up living together after Roy finds out Peter can barely keep up with rent and uses his detective job to help make ends meet. Peter realizes this was how Aunt May used to feel when he was the one paying the bills at home.

Commence hijinks of Roy and Peter trying to pull off dual identity jobs while not telling each other

Roy and Peter both know things aren’t copasetic with each other. Roy is still struggling with his history as a drug addict and is still avoiding Ollie, while Pete is starting to feel homesick and worry about the people he left behind. (Don’t worry, they end up talking and making each other feel better)

Roy’s friends and family keep showing up and making it hard to keep a secret identity: Jason pops up with beer from time to time, Nightwing shows up in full costume not knowing Roy is not living alone, Artemis is pissed when she thinks Roy abandoned Lian and picked up another kid (yeah I put Artemis in the DCU, sue me if I like her), and Dinah just coming over to talk and finding out she has two angsty boys that need help instead of just one

Star City has fewer criminals and more assassins than other cities. I would reason Peter isn’t prepared to deal with Merlyn or Slade and takes a bad hit

Roy throws apprehension to the wind and books it to Queen Mansion in order to save his friends life. This results in a whirlwind of everybody freaking out when Roy shows up with a bloody, dying teenager pleading with Ollie for help (Ollie, I should mention, was not aware Roy was back until this point)

Dinah is the only one who stays calm enough to help Peter while Roy, Ollie, Mia, and Artemis all have a family feud moment.

The end result would be Roy getting back together with his family, taking back custody of Lian, gaining temporary guardianship of Peter, and getting back in touch with the superhero community. 

As before, I’m sure Ollie would drop it to the JL that Peter is from another dimension and he needs some help, but brags that if they can’t get him home, he’s one-upping Batman on the adoption chart

Central City

Yes, I know Keystone also exists. But considering the two are in different states and Spidey doesn’t have superspeed, so I’m restricting it to Central.

He manages to get a well-off apartment, unfortunately it’s right across the street from the Keystone Saloon. He manages to lies about his age in order to get work as a cleaner/barkeep. (For the record, I can totally see Peter’s chemistry skills coming in handy here with drink mixing. Keep in mind that Flash, who is a chemist by trade, once worked as the barkeep too)

The Flash Rogues are pretty pissed that the owner hired a kid to work the counter, but after getting some (not at all believed) reassurance from Peter that he’s just small for his age, they decide to keep an eye on him while there

Meanwhile, outside the bar, the Rogues are a bit surprised/annoyed that a non-speed related newbie is foiling their heists. That lasts all of five seconds when they realize Spiderman is another minor.

Spidey, who is used to crazed egomaniacal maniacs swearing to kill him ten different ways, is very put off with the Rogues acting like overbearing uncles to him (”I know it’s finals week kid, WTF are you doing out this late” “Kid fix your damn costume and patch yourself up before you do this again, you're gonna get hurt” “Kid do you even eat?”)

They warm up to each other, especially when Spidey offhandedly mentions he’s not used to people being so nice to him (cue Captain Cold to assume child abuse)

The Flash family proceed to make Spidey’s head spin. Barry, Jay, and sometimes Wally stand still long enough to have casual conversation, but Iris, Jay, and Bart are a different story. 

Barry starts to suspect Spiderman is hiding something. He doesn’t follow him home out of respect, but after talking with Cold during a heist, he starts to subscribe to the “child abuse” theory

The fact that Peter is more or less living bare minimum with fewer calories to fuel his healing factor doesn’t help. Those bruises after a fight aren’t healing as fast. It also doesn’t help that he’s showing up to work with half healed injuries.

The ruse is up when Trickster barges into Peter’s apartment one night in order to settle the debate and finds him still in costume patching up after a fight with a non-Rogue villain. 

The Rogues proceed to haul Peter over to Keystone and dump him on Barry Allen (” Here, take this. He’s not allowed back out until he’s been fed, healed up, and fixed his suit. Don’t make us come back here Flash”)

Barry and Iris get the full story from Peter while they patch him up. Peter is pretty surprised that dimensional travel isn’t the weirdest thing Flash has ever done (the guy has created parallel universes for crying out loud)

Peter is very self-conscious about eating enough to maintain his healing factor and metabolism, until he realizes he’s among people who deal with the same problems in day-to-day life outside the house. It’s a touching moment

Once again, queue Justice League to swoop in and take over.

Yes I know not everybody is used to the Flash Rogues being so close with Flash, but I grew up with this particular variant of the characters and I like that it’s a change in dynamic between heroes and criminals

Coast City

Again, I’m not super familiar with Coast City other than it is DC’s take on Californian cities.

Peter takes a job as a delivery driver to make ends meet. One of the people he delivers to more than most is Hal Jordan (because I assume Hal is just like any other mid 30′s bachelor and prefers to order take out instead of cook for himself)

Hal is extremely put off by the pizza delivery boy who looks like he could be a clone or long lost son

By comparison, he is only mildly annoyed by the arrival of a new vigilante in Coast City. (As far as I know, Coast City doesn’t really have any hometown villains. The majority of the bad guys who attack are aliens who are after Jordan for being a member of the GL corps) Hal never really had time to go out patrolling like Spiderman does, so he doesn’t care at first

Ultimately, due to teasing from the other Lanterns and Carol about “staking his turf and laying down the law with the newbie” Hal goes out as GL to talk with Spidey. Halfway through their “conversation”, one of Hal’s enemies shows up to try and settle the score

Spidey and GL team up, but Spidey isn’t exactly prepared to deal with the things a power ring can do. His costume gets shredded and immediately gets ousted as the pizza guy less than a week after dropping in Coast City

Hal is having a crisis over this. (What if this kid is his long lost son after all? I’m not enough of a bastard to just leave this kid to struggle with homelessness knowing I could help him. Dammit Batman, you are a terrible influence!)

Hal makes Peter quit the pizza gig because, “kid you are way too young to be working anyway and CPS will eat me alive if they find out I was okay with this” 

Hal, predictably, is zero percent ready to be taking care of a fidgety superteen. Like this guy's level of parental incompetence would terrify Batman. Here he is having spontaneously taken in a kid off the streets when he can’t even feed himself.

Carol hears about this and puts him through the wringer about “How to Parent” Queue Hal doing the most ridiculous things from buying cheesy Parenting For Dummies books to attending seminars for single moms

Long story short, he gets his act together over this because if Peter is in fact a lost family relative, he wants to make an impression/make up for lost time (Peter meanwhile, is oblivious to this thought process and doesn’t think he and Hal look that much alike. They do XD)

Hal and Peter having a bonding moment over at Ferris Air, with Hal taking Peter flying in one of his jets. Hal is shocked that Peter is so familiar with and enthused by the inner workings and considers pestering Carol about getting Peter a position as a mechanic. Carol says not until he graduates.

Word gets out about Spidey and Hal slowly, mostly because Hal is the only hero in Coast City and manages to keep his secrets under wraps. Batman mostly figures out the truth due to Hal’s change in character (Sorry Bats, can’t be on for monitor duty tonight, I gotta get home and cook for my ki - I mean, for Carol. Cause she’s the one who over at my place. Totally. No one else)

Flash and Green Arrow show up in Coast City to throw Hal a “Welcome to Parenthood” party. Hal is not amused, but Carol very much is.

Peter finally breaks to Hal, and then the JL about being from another universe. Hal is pretty crushed about Peter not being a blood relative due to entertaining the fantasy for so long. 

The League starts trying to find ways to send Peter back. Meanwhile, he starts parading Spiderman around during League meetings going on about how he proved them wrong and being a successful parent. It especially annoys Batman. (”What’s the matter Bats? Mad that you aren’t one of a kind anymore?”)

Fawcett City

For starters, I’m really not sure which variation of the Marvel Family to use: the New52 or Pre-52 versions. It makes it kinda hard to nail down plot elements since I go back and forth. 

I like the idea of Peter and Billy being homeless together and helping each other out, Peter being an older brother which is something he has no experience with.

That said, I’m not super familiar with how DC handled Billy later in the timeline other then he started growing up, joined the radio station as the host, and met Mary. Might not be the best storyline to use seeing as it seems a bit spotty

I like the idea of the New52 Marvel Family finding Peter out in the cold and inviting him in. Peter is thrust into the role of the awkward older brother with six small children looking up to him

Of course, when they transform in front of him, they aren’t so small anymore.

Despite having a caring family, food, and support, Peter is afraid of telling everyone who he is. The fear of overstaying his welcome keeps him up at night.

Not to mention, the Marvel’s have the crime fighting down cold, meaning there isn’t really a home for Spiderman either.

I think a moment where Peter privately confesses who he is/where he comes from to Billy would set up the story. Now Billy realizes his new big brother is going through the same problems he went through with trying to fit in. 

As Captain Marvel, he tries to find the Marvel (haha) universe via the Rock of Eternity, but gets no results. Now Billy is afraid of telling Peter the bad news because he’s pretty sure Peter is depressed and doesn’t want something to happen.

Billy starts subtly asking Cyborg at the watchtower about research into alternate universes because maybe science can succeed where magic failed

The opportunity for Spidey to shine comes when Dr. Sivana starts up a machine that drains magic and makes the Marvel’s powerless. Queue someone with no magic powers but a lot of technical know-how to swoop in and show what he can do.

I feel something that could potentially happen is the machine backfiring and giving Peter some magical abilities as a result (I mean, the Marvel’s are basically the sources of Earth’s magic from what I can remember. Anything can happen)

From here, not really sure what could happen. I suppose Peter having to accept that he can’t go home, but is happy he can stay with the Vasquez family and still continue being a hero to his adopted siblings in and out of costume. Alternatively, the magic blast could shoot him back to the Marvelverse, with Peter being upset that he never got to say goodbye. (Spoiler: Captain Marvel now knows where the Marvelverse is and comes for a visit)

[thwackk]

Hi! Sorry to bother you but I saw you were a fellow Clark lover and I feel like you were a great person to ask this question to: In your opinion, what traditions/culture things from Krypton does Clark do in his daily life? Ex, could be a small Kryptonian prayer before eating or a specific holiday, etc Clark in my opinion would do everything he can to keep his heritage alive so I was curious what your take on it was :)

hi!! you’re not bothering me, i take every opportunity i get to run my mouth about clark :) you made my day

first thing’s first, i believe clark has some instincual and natural kryptonian things that he does that he either was told wasn’t normal by his parents, or things that he’s done mostly in private for a majority of his life so therefore he has no idea that it’s not normal.

One thing i headcanon he does is bump his head to other people’s heads as a form of affection like if he likes you he’ll put his forehead on yours. im leaning into the kryptonians are like cats thing, i love that. obviously he doesn’t do this with everyone as to keep up appearances, but he does it with ma and pa and the league. Kyrptonians are a very physically affectionate people

Another thing he can do but doesn’t because it’s definitely NOT human, is clicking (similar to a raven), it’s a sound that comes from deep in his body tho so it’s not super loud and only really noticeable in a quiet room or if you’re sitting right next to him, he can control it for the most part but sometimes it happens without his consent when he’s particularly frustrated abt something.

Uuhmm oh i also like to think everything on earth tastes completely different to him, like pickles are like ghost peppers to him and marshmallows taste like cilantro or somethin. as a baby the jarred baby food always made him pull a face and spit it out and now there’s these two panicked parents completely lost on how and what to feed this alien baby. mashed up raw onions and bell peppers were like candy to him and his parents just had to hope that it wasn’t bad for him. stuff like that. he’s physically repulsed by cheese, all of it. the smell alone makes him want to vomit. (i know this clashes with my headcannon that he’s an amazing cook and makes the best meals, but that’s just a process of following the recipe and knowing how to do it cause ma taught him how, as well as all her special recipes, so to him it’s just a routine.)

i have more somewhere in my head but they’re not comin to me rn. i really gotta draw out my versions of kryptonians because i really do like to lean in to the fact that they are aliens and should look and feel a little more like it yaknow?

okay, traditions and keeping his culture alive stuff let’s see

he wears the traditional kryptonian fits on special kryptonian holidays as well as father’s day. There’s a holiday that celebrates animal companionship (pets basically) and every leaguer agrees that it’s absolutely criminal it’s not a real national holiday on earth. The league celebrates every year.

kryptonian birthday’s work a bit differently, for the entire day your eyes glow and instead of recieving gifts and having a party, the person who’s birthday it was gets an entire day to themselves, no work or anything, they just get to relax and do whatever they want, a birthday was a day of celebration of course with loved ones but the custom applied to work and such, if it was your birthday, you were allowed to do whatever you wanted that day free of charge so long as it wasn’t illegal obviously, this was customary on Krypton because a birthday was considered a very important day, in a different way that’s it’s considered on earth. Bruce does everything in his power to take all work load off of Clark every year after hearing Clark talk abt kryptonian birthday’s once, and Bruce being fully aware of how important keeping krypton alive is to Clark even if it is in small seemingly pointless ways, he does that. Much to Clark’s dismay, Bruce practically forces him to take the day off and offers to pay for literally anything he wants to do that day. Usually Clark just wants to spend time with friends and family.

honestly my brain can’t think of many more or very interesting ones, i’m sure they’re in there but my mind is dead right now, but i hope you enjoy those

[whetstonefires]

If Steve Rogers functions as the Superman of the bunch, the noble hero out of the past who inspires the others to greatness, what exactly is Bucky Barnes role, especially as Captain America himself?

I don't think that's a very meaningful analogy because like. The Justice League and the Avengers are very different teams, and despite their fairly similar ethics Clark and Steve are possibly even more different guys.

Captain America's is a solid general all-rounder, very mid-level in terms of actual power. Problems are frequently too big for him. Superman is stupid strong--every so often something shows up that's more powerful than he is, but he spends most of his life finessing his way through using as much force as he needs without overshooting and causing unacceptable collateral damage. He can move planets.

Psychologically, there's a vast gulf there.

The legacy of Krypton and the, the myth of America are roughly the same shape but are worn in completely opposite ways. No one on Earth knows or cares about Krypton except through Superman, and even he doesn't remember it--sometimes Kara does--so it's just pretty shapes and a deep solemnity.

America is messy and current and in-your-face, it was there before Steve and it'll probably outlive him and sometimes he gets so fed up with its foreign policy decisions or civil rights abuses he puts on a different outfit or goes and lives in a bunker.

'Superman' is a big idea that rests entirely on Kal-El as a person and as a force; 'Captain America' as a concept might be built on Steve and his supersoldier status but it's not dependent on him, they keep making a point of that.

Meanwhile they've made Jon Superman but struggle mightily with how to do that without just making him his dad. Of course they'd be struggling less if they'd let him grow up at a normal speed or were willing to lean into what a fucking bizarre person he ought to be after seven years in a cave with his dad's evil twin; basically Jon Kent doesn't have a character right now and they think he can hold up a title. But actually they know he can't that's why they brought Clark back. Superman is a disaster right now.

So anyway. In classic terms, Bucky was the counterpart of Jimmy Olsen. Then he died--I believe this was established in a retcon in the 60s when they brought Cap back, when Marvel was getting its feet under it as the grounded, realistic superhero comic company.

Then Bucky and Jason Todd both came back in 2005 which was kind of embarrassing for everyone imo. Just like. Did you have to do that at the same time you're making each other's cheap stunts look even more stuntlike.

Bucky's actually done better over the last 18 years than Jason tbh, rip--I mean in terms of interesting stories and development. Jason got his own book and all, he just also was subjected to terrible discontinuity of character and was primarily written by Scott Lobdell for like a decade. Terrible.

In terms of who he can be compared to relative to Superman when he's being Captain America, I. Uhhhhhh. No one in any useful way, I don't think. The obvious place to look is the Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen period, but like.

Does Bucky have anything really in common with Cyborg Superman other than being a traumatized cyborg? No. Does he have anything in common with The Kid (later Kon-El)? You'd think there'd be something but there really isn't. Each point they have in common (i.e. dehumanizing lab background) they have diametrically opposed relationships to.

Steve's had duplicates and impersonators, I think the anti-commie guy he beat up that time is kind of like his Cyborg Superman equivalent? Except there's a whole political ideology thing going on there which is just not present with Superman. Anyway, not relevant to Bucky.

...you can I think draw some kind of relationship between Sam Wilson as Captain America and John Henry Irons as Steel, because on the writing end of things there's a definite flavor match, in terms of very deliberately creating a very cool black man and holding him up as an exemplar in a superhero story that otherwise has not got a lot of black people in major roles, and making him the best person to uphold the legacy of the Very Important Hero Guy. Like certain conventions are utilized the same in both instances. In certain ways that was two versions of the same story.

But also not really; Irons was very much pinch-hitting and what made him the best was that he was the one determined to do the work rather than claim the glamor; it's a lot more ceremonious and torch-passing with Wilson. A different deal. Although in some ways that's just because Marvel has hung onto and deliberately invested in the Falcon for decades.

DC Comics stop doing weird stuff with Clark's family and identity and reinvest in the supporting cast challenge. Where is Steel what's going on with him. Does he exist in this timeline.

[josefavomjaaga]

Napoleon's letter to Soult about the "roi Nicolas" affair

Another contemporary document related to Soult's behaviour in Portugal in spring 1809 and his alleged attempt to make himself king. Please see here for the rest of them.

This is Napoleon's first official reaction to everything that had happened in Oporto, several months earlier, and boy is he not happy. He had in the meantime received an abundance of reports, complaints, rumours, some generals had reported to Clarke, Ney had sent Jomini, and Soult had sent Brun de Villeret who, however, was only allowed into Napoleon's presence when the atmosphere was hopelessly poisoned already. (I plan to translate his interview with Napoleon at some point but it's awfully long.)

Translated from the "Correspondance Générale", Volume 9, No. 22204

To Marshal Soult, commander of the army of Portugal Schönbrunn, 26 September 1809 My cousin, I was dissatisfied with your conduct.

In French: I was "mécontent". That’s Napoleon’s phrase of ultimate disapproval. Just ask Eugène, he’s quite familar with that one.

My dissatisfaction is based on this sentence in your chief of staff's circular: "The Duke of Dalmatia would be asked to take over the reins of government, to represent the sovereign and to assume all the powers of supreme authority, with the people promising and swearing to be loyal to him, to support him and to defend him at the expense of their lives and fortunes against all opponents and even against the insurgents of the other provinces until the kingdom is completely subjugated."

That’s a point about which I would love to be able to check Junot’s proclamations and correspondence from the year before in Lisbon, just to compare and see the difference in how he worded them. Junot’s position during the first expedition into Portugal seems rather similar to Soult’s.

It would have been a crime which would have obliged me, no matter how attached I am to you, to consider you guilty of lèse-majesté and guilty of undermining my authority, if you had assumed supreme power on your own initiative.

You better be grateful to that Wellesley guy for kicking you out in time, man!

How could you have forgotten that the power you exercised over the Portuguese derived from the command I entrusted to you and not from the whims of passions and intrigue? How, with the talents you have, could you have thought that I would ever agree to let you exercise any authority without you receiving it from me?

Yes, yes. May I however briefly direct the illustrious attention of Your Imperial Irritatedness to the passage that clearly states Soult in his office would "represent the sovereign"? The sovereign kinda being you, you know?

There is in this a forgetfulness of principles, a misunderstanding of my character and of the feelings and pride of the nation, which I cannot reconcile with the opinion I have of you. It is with these false steps that discontent has grown, and that people have thought that you were working for yourself and not for me and for France. You have undermined the foundation of your authority, because it would be difficult to say whether, after the circular issued by you, a Frenchman who had ceased to obey you would have been guilty.

And like this, Napoleon passes on the buck to Soult. It was Soult’s conduct that had caused the discontent and (almost) revolt in the army, period. - This is, unfortunately, not the whole truth, and Napoleon must have known this. Argenton had not betrayed the army because of Soult but because of Napoleon. And if it is true that there was similar unrest in his own army in Austria at the time (an echo of which may be found in Austrian anecdotes), he may have had good reasons to insist on such a simplified explanation.

During your expedition, I was annoyed to see you go off without having destroyed La Romana, to see you stay so long in Oporto without covering your communications with Zamora, marching on Lisbon or taking any other action. I was sorry to see you allowed yourself to be surprised at Oporto, and that my army, without a fight, fled with almost no artillery and no baggage.

Here, once again, he puts all the blame on Soult, echoing Ney’s accusations that had been brought to Napoleon by Jomini. In this he contradicts completely his own earlier letters – at the time when Soult actually was in Portugal - to Jourdan and Joseph, whom he reproached in no uncertain terms for letting the communication with the army of Portugal be interrupted.

However, after having hesitated for a long time about the course I should take, the attachment I have for you and the memory of the services you rendered me at Austerlitz and in other circumstances have decided me; I forget the past, I hope that it will serve you as a guideline; and I entrust you with the post of major general of my army in Germany [sic].

Yes, His Imperial Majesty is so excited at this point He gets His illustrious geography a little mixed up.

As the King has no experience of war, [...]

Really? Joseph? What makes you think that?

[…] my intention is that, until I arrive, you should report to me on events. I myself want to enter Lisbon as soon as possible.

As much as he may have wanted that (if he did), he of course never would. As a matter of fact, he would never return to the peninsula at all, leaving all the responsibility and the endless discussions with brother dearest to one Jean-de-dieu Soult.

So, that’s the imperial dressing-down that Soult received for the second expedition into Portugal. And in case somebody thinks that some of this sounds rather close to how Saint-Chamans wrote about events, in particular in blaming Soult for the loss of communications – that’s not a coincidence. Saint-Chamans actually knew about this letter. As he writes in his memoirs:

Some time later, Marshal Mortier's corps having left Oropesa, Marshal Soult established himself there; it was there that the aide-de-camp Brun de Villeret, whom on his return from Portugal he had dispatched to the Emperor, joined him with letters from the latter, by which Marshal Soult was appointed major-general of the army of Spain, replacing Marshal Jourdan who had been recalled to France. The Marshal's place was now near Joseph Bonaparte in Madrid; we went there immediately. I did not doubt, given this new mark of confidence by the Emperor, that he had approved of the Marshal's conduct in Portugal; I did, however, find the Marshal's countenance worried, and the deep sighs he sometimes heaved in his moments of reverie gave me much food for thought on this subject. The Marshal had a private secretary, named Voidel, with whom I was closely connected; we had no secrets from each other: I told him of my doubts, and he confided in me that he had read the Emperor's letter to the Marshal, brought back by the aide-de-camp M. Brun; it was devastating, and I even think that Napoleon did not hide cleverly enough that he only forgave the Marshal because he needed him. In this letter, the Emperor harshly reproached Marshal Soult for having sought to be named King of Portugal, and for having thus betrayed the interests of France; for having, by his conduct at Oporto, demoralised his troops, and for thus being the cause of our shameful exit from this town and of the loss of all the army's equipment; he said that his first move had been to bring him before a high imperial court to make him suffer the punishment he had so well deserved; "however, I wanted," he added, "to show clemency towards you, in memory of the good services you rendered me, particularly at the battle of Austerlitz, and to put you in a position, by rendering me new services, to erase your fault, I appointed you major general of my armies in Spain. " He then ordered him to go to Madrid, to King Joseph, to direct the latter in the command of the army, which had devolved upon him; and he ended his letter by saying that as soon as he had finished the war in Germany, he himself would go and plant his eagles on the towers of Lisbon. I then understood where all the Marshal's sighs were coming from; but I had no doubt that he would soon have made his peace with the Emperor, for he was necessary, and was becoming more so every day.

Whereas I mostly enjoy this prime examply of army gossip: Napoleon writes to Soult, Soult’s secretary reads the letter, talks about it, already with some exaggerations and embellishments, to Soult’s aide, who in his memoirs quotes several lines of this letter that are utterly invented, and does anybody really think Saint-Chamans did not immediately gossip about it further? 😁 By the end of the week the army’s stable grooms and washerwomen were probably also informed.

However, this does answer the question if Soult at the time already understood what he later claimed was the reason for Napoleon’s action: He did not. To the contrary: He was very worried, very isolated, and felt that everybody around him mistrusted him.

[laufire]

Your top 5 Lois Lane moments (off the top of your head).

I recently read Lois Lane (1986) "When It Rains, God Is Crying", a two-part story about Lois delving into children disappearances. It's less that there's one moment and more that I just like how Lois is written there. She had a professional fumble before this (indirectly cause by Superman, in part, and leading to the end of their relationship) and she's a bit in hot water, focused on the investigation while everyone talks about how she's getting too obsessed and should disengage etc. And Lois herself gets mean and dismissive and furious at others because she's so focused on the work in a way I really enjoyed reading. Like a moment where she's incredibly dismissive of Lucy's stewardess job, for example. I like when Lois's characterisation shows different facets.

It's similar for me with Amy Adams's Lois: it's less about an specific moment and more about what the iteration of the character brought. One moment I like is when she does find Clark on her own in Smallville (this is before Superman, but she's following the story of a man with powers) and drops the story, keeping the secret. In general, Clark and Lois being an actual team instead of how shitty some of the identity shenanigans have gotten over the years (and I'm saying this as someone who enjoys secret identity shenanigans) was something I liked on this version.

I haven't watched Christopher Reeves's Superman films (I intend to, at some point, but who knows when). I HAVE watched the deleted scene where Lois tricks Clark into revealing himself by shooting a blank at him. I love it xD

It's been AEONS since I watched either Smallville or Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (neither of which I ever properly finished... it's on my list as well...). I'm cheating by picking each Lois introductory episodes (4x01 for Smallville, the pilot for L&C). I think they both, and their actress, made a superb job introducing the character, making her *pop* for the audience, showing us their "unstoppable force" quality.

This might be just because it's what I saw of her last LOL, but I LOVE the moment where she dumps Bruce in STAS!! It's a good moment for them both, period, and I like their dynamic and all, but outside that, I just really really enjoyed seeing someone basically tell Bruce "I love you, but this is where I get off." It was VERY satisfying for me.

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

[starwalker03]

If it’s not a spoiler, how would the WMLP cast react if the Justice League tried to arrest them? Separately as individuals not as a group.

haha emotionally!

Wally would be expecting it. he'd probably cry and have a panic attack but he'd expect it. he thinks he deserves it. if it was anyone but Barry he'd go quietly but be a little cold and angry because like he just wants to stay with Dick and try and fix himself and this would not be helping. if it was Barry tho he'd probably just start apologising for everything and otherwise go quietly.

Artemis would be absolutely pissed. it's the biggest annoyane and the heroes are just getting in her way and she has more important things to worry about. also so do they, like she can't really be that high on the priority list come on! she starts swearing at whoever is arresting her but she won't fully try to escape because that's just gonna cause even more trouble, y'know? but she'll try and remove handcuffs or anything and just stand there yelling at them to piss off.

The thing with M'Gaan is she wouldn't be arrested as herself but under a persona. so she'd just start acting. might even flirt with whatever hero it is to get out o fit. if it was in a situation where she can reveal her powers she'd just blast through their brains as a means of knocking them unconscious (but not like. the full brain blast that leaves people catatonic). she'd be the least emotional probably, she's mostly just dealing with the turmoil of "why am I trying to escape when that just means going back to Bee?" and then the following spiral of "who am I now and why have I allowed myself to become this? Is this what I want?"

Kaldur would have a panic attack. like. very simply that's what's happening because there'd be so many thoughts and emotions all at once that his brain would just shut down. so either it overwhelms him or alternatively he completely dissociates and that's almost worse because he's just watching everything happen around him unable to do anything because his mind fogs over. and then he panics about whether he can control his magic. he wouldn't think he deserves it like Wally does, but he wouldn't exactly fight it. He's been a prisoner for ten years already so what's the difference, y'know?

Conner is a bit similar to Wally in that he thinks he deserves it and would still be upset about it. I think whetehr or not he actually cried would depend on who was arresting him and how they were doing it. But he'd go along with it. He'd just spend hours asking to see Clark and hoping beyond anything that he could fix things. I think mostly he'd get upset if there were cameras. he'd be pissed about that. he doesn't want recordings of it all over the internet and he definitely doesn't want to run the risk that that's how Clark, Lois or anyone else he cares about finds out.

Dick is the same reaction as Artemis dialed to a thousand. absolute anger. the difference is as soon as he breaks out he'd bolting. he refuses to let them catch him, they're gonna have to claw him down kicking and screaming. he is swearing and screaming and punching and kicking and it doesn't matter who it is. they're getting a boot to the chest.

[stellacendia]

I'm definitely only thinking about this cause I'm a custodian but who cleans the Watchtower?? Cause I can't imagine anyone on the Justice League voluntarily cleaning a bathroom except Clark and maybe Diana. In Justice League Unlimited the Watchtower has a support staff of hundreds and presumably there's a team of custodians in that crew somewhere, but what about universes where they don't have support staff?

Do they have a rotating schedule where they divide up duties and take it in turns? How often is this done? How thorough are they? Cause thoroughly cleaning a structure that large would take a lot of time and they're all very busy people living double lives. How is waste collected and removed from the Tower? I'm assuming cleaning supplies and related equipment would be acquired in a similar way to any other equipment they use.

Can you imagine the League having meetings where they're like "okay we have to get better at taking out our trash cause the can in the kitchen is always overflowing" and arguing over whose turn it is to sweep the floors this week? Bruce will ask Alfred for advice on the most efficient way to clean a bathroom and will do it out of necessity but dread when his turn comes up. Clark is the best of all them at completing his duties and he doesn't even cheat using super speed. All of them at some point will put all of the Tower's garbage into one trash bag because they can lift it no matter how heavy it is and then the bag will tear and spill everywhere because the heroes might be very strong but these bags sure aren't. Several of them will forget which cleaner is used for which task and make that task harder for the next person to do it cause the chemical the first person used made the surface much dirtier than it normally would be. Do they assume they have to mop the floors by hand or do they know there are machines that will scrub the floor sooo much faster and also suck up all the water? Do they use a regular broom for sweeping or save themselves a ton of time and use a nice wide dust mop?

I'm going with no carpet cause satellite in space so no vacuuming needed but I do have several Thoughts on how that could go wrong too. The cord not being long enough or getting in the way. Several team members not realizing it's a model that uses bags and that those need to be replaced when they get full. So much hair getting wrapped around the beater bar. Several people not realizing there's a detachable crevice tool to get in smaller spaces. Several people clogging it by sucking up things that are too big. If they have a cordless battery powered model they forget to charge the batteries. All in all it's better to not burden them with a vacuum let's just say all the floors can be swept and mopped.

Now I kinda want a fic where they try doing it all themselves and after a few months they're like "this is not working" and then they decide they need support staff. Online job postings for "Watchtower Custodian Urgently Needed, Some Experience Required." World's weirdest job interview. Having your background check done by fucking Batman

[pseudo-hero]

Superman #7 Discussion and Predictions for Superman #8

*Spoilers Ahead*

Sooo if you haven't been keeping up with the current run of Superman titled comics (Dawn of DC Superman)—you should. It's so good. Too many reasons why to list.

Now with that being said: My mushified-by-Clex brain saw a preview of issue #8, thought about what's been implied by previous issues and then started thinking some more about that one old but gold Kon-El character trait/plotline and how it may effect the future. The one that DC hasn't wanted to talk about in-comic, for a while.

I...I think this next issue may be leading up to Konner finally being re-solidified as the confirmed offspring of Clark and Lex—and possibly even more. So much of Superman comic media recently, this run included (even despite Lex's usual fuckery present from the beginning) has come across, to me, like they really are going to give Lex a real, no taksies-backsies redemption. One that—even if it's not permanent—will be as unforgettable as his "rebirth" was.

(Above Images from Superman #7 [2023])

This on its own would be phenomenal, but could also (if true) help pave the way for DC/writers to acknowledge Kon's direct origins in a comic, in the present day. I also feel that they would most likely redo the reason for why Kon was created by Lex in the first place, by giving us a different, (hopefully) less toxic explanation. (But Lex's past with Superman staying messy in that regard would be nice, too, I guess.)

The explicit confirmation of Conner Kent's biological parentage is very important to me because the problem I have at this point, isn't just that a lot of people are denying what it is that makes Konner their son; it's also that I can't even tell anymore if that's how he was created, due to confusion caused by all the post-flashpoint/Perpetua/Dr. Manhattan/Rebirth/multiverse-resetting-madness. (But if anyone knows a recent comic/panel where it's straight up said how this version of Kon-El was created, please @ me.)

It should also be noted that Superboy (It feels so weird to still be calling him that, now. Damn it writer(s)...) said that he felt a "connection" to The Chained. One they both felt and which is apparently related to their powers.

(Above Images from Superman #7 [2023])

So this leads me (and by the looks of it, at least a few others) to believe that The Chained (real name "Sam/Sammy") may turn out to be a third father to Konner! Or, perhaps the template they based Kon's powers on, which would easily explain why they have the same abilities. I'm kinda hoping the connection is no more than the latter. Otherwise it comes across as more predatory than if it had just been Lex and Clark's DNA, because it appears in the issue #8 preview that Lex was already a full-grown (balding) adult when Sammy was a little boy.

(Important Side Note: Does this version of Conner even know who his progenitors are?? Does Clark even know??)

(Above Images from Superman #8 [2023] Preview)

I have some questions and theories about how that's possible as well (the Lex-clone-plotline from the 90's is still "canon", I guess?) but I'll just stop here on that.

Moving on: Most/all of the remainder of Lex's family has now shown up in his hospital room. That is, his somehow-still-alive mother and his daughter! (No sister present though, unfortunately. I hope she's doing well now and not in a coma or itching to harm her brother.) Why would that be the case if they weren't planning a big plot that centers on family, possibly regarding who is and isn't a part of the Super Family (Clark's family)? Action Comics to me, also has similar themes in it that have family at their core. (And both comic runs are technically connected.) Looks like a pattern to me and I don't think that's an accident.

(Above Image from Superman #7 [2023])

Side Note: Lois is there for the ride, too, and her reaction is my reaction to this! Seriously, what is happening right now?? And although Teen!Lena has only just arrived to the scene, I think she's already a fave of mine. Love her enthusiasm (probably snark-flavored) and that choice of lipstick and eye shadow.

(Above Image from Superman #7 [2023])

(Those Brainiac-originated dents on her head are definitely related to the role she's going to play in the next arc. I just know it.)

So Lex, having survived his attempted murder (Or whatever that scene was back in issue #5... they didn't even bother to make sure he was dead!) is the spur for all this drama (along with Brainiac, too, it seems and I guess others) and in the preview for next issue, is seen being contacted by watch. Guess who the caller is and what it'll most likely be about?

(Above Image from Superman #8 [2023] Preview)

Praise be to this long-running, amazing Superman story!! Hope it stays entertaining and well written!!

Side Note: Seriously?! Why the choice to change Lex's gorgeous watch and its fantastic color scheme from issue #3 (where Superman gifted it to him)?! Assuming it's the same watch, at least keep it matching Superman's costume/uniform like before!! (I like the gold on it here, though.)

Bonus!:

Do these two happen to remind you of anyone or anything, reader?

(Above Image from Superman #7 [2023])

No? How about now?

A-ha! No way that's not an intentional reference!!

Thanks for reading!! 😁

[beardedmrbean]

Jacqueline Addo remembers the time two years ago when her husband Joshua confided to her that the stress of adjusting to life in Canada from Ghana was proving too much for him to bear.

He had reached a breaking point, and her own mental health wasn't great.

"I was just a shadow of myself, basically," she said.

Joshua was struggling to find a job in his field as a financial adviser, and had instead worked stints at a courier company and at Costco.

With Jacqueline looking after their children, they were unable to make ends meet on one salary and had to borrow money from family and friends every month to survive.

While Joshua has an administrative job with Nova Scotia Power today, and the couple is finally able to rest a little easier and plan for the future, not all immigrants fare as well.

The stresses caused by the upheaval of moving to a new country — and the often huge chasm between what immigrants are led to expect about life in Canada and the reality — can lead to depression, frustration and a loss of self-esteem, according to experts.

A study released in December by Mental Health Research Canada found that new Canadians are almost twice as likely to express concerns about feeding their families as people born in Canada.

It said food insecurity and isolation from a family and friends support network have been tied to higher incidences of mental health challenges.

In 2022, more than 437,000 immigrants moved to Canada. A record 12,500 of those arrivals came to Nova Scotia, according to a survey commissioned by the province — and that figure could rise, with Ottawa hoping to attract 500,000 newcomers a year by 2026.

The stress of acculturation

Iqbal Chowdhury is a PhD candidate at Dalhousie University whose doctoral research focuses on the mental health condition of immigrants moving to Canada.

Chowdhury, who is from Bangladesh, said his research indicates immigrants tend to have better mental health than their Canadian-born counterparts.

Other research suggests people who successfully navigate Canada's immigration system, particularly in the economic class, are healthier because they are well educated, slightly younger than average Canadians and must go through medical screening.

But over time, he said, the mental health of immigrants deteriorates until it matches that of the general population — a phenomenon described as the healthy immigrant effect, or the immigrant paradox. One of the potential causes, he said, is stress associated with the acculturation process.

Iqbal Chowdhury is a PhD candidate at Dalhousie University doing doctoral research on the mental health condition of immigrants moving to Canada. (Ira Clarke)

Another is diminishing self-worth. As part of the immigration process, people are considered based on their training and employment history in their country of origin, and they have the expectation of getting a similar job in Canada, Chowdhury said.

But once they arrive, they often find it very hard to use their previous experience and educational credentials, he said.

"It actually affects their aspiration and affects their self-esteem, and I would say that it also prevents them from developing a social network with their community in Canada," he said.

"When they cannot get a job in the labour market, they find it is really a kind of shame to share with people back home, as well as the community living in Canada."

Chowdhury said mental health is one of the important determinants of social and economic development and progress. If Canada wants to build a productive future generation of immigrants, he said, it is important to study the problems faced by immigrants and take a close look at the resources that are available to improve their mental health.

Career setbacks

It can take immigrants years to work their way back up the career ladder, the Conference Board of Canada noted in a September report it prepared for the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

"While the fairy tale of Canada as a land of opportunity still holds for many newcomers, this study points to burgeoning disillusionment," institute CEO Daniel Bernhard said in the report.

"After giving Canada a try, growing numbers of immigrants are saying 'no thanks,' and moving on."

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that it offers preventive and non-clinical mental health support to newcomers through third-party settlement organizations.

It also partners with the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to help address the mental health needs of newcomers, the statement said.

Unable to find suitable jobs

According to the conference board report, nearly 15 per cent of immigrants left Canada within 15 years of obtaining permanent resident status. But for some who are now hoping to move elsewhere, the process of uprooting again is not a viable option, particularly if they are older.

Manmeet and Randeep Oberoi sold everything they had and moved from the Indian state of Punjab in 2018 with their two children.

The couple, who are in their 50s, have post-graduate degrees from Indian universities.

Manmeet was a principal at a teaching college and Randeep was a credit manager at a bank.

Manmeet got her Nova Scotia teaching certification and now works as a substitute teacher, but has been unable to find a permanent position.

Manmeet and Randeep Oberoi moved to Halifax from India in 2018. (Gagan Oberoi)

Despite taking several banking courses since arriving, Randeep said he is still jobless.

He said they expected it would take some time, maybe up to two years, to find permanent employment.

While the couple are now Canadian citizens, Randeep said he still has no idea how to make inroads in the job market.

Manmeet said the experience has been especially frustrating because she loves teaching and has a wealth of specialized skills.

Manifestations of stress

Carmen Celina Moncayo, a supervisor at Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia and a psychologist by training, said the stress caused by the immigration experience can manifest itself in many ways.

"People can develop depression. People can develop anxiety. People can have sleeping problems, eating [problems], irritability," she said.

"Mistrust of themselves, mistrust in the environment … all the ways that our body reflects stress."

Moncayo, who is originally from Colombia, said her association teaches people that what they are experiencing is a completely normal reaction to the feeling of being uprooted.

After more than five years in Nova Scotia, Manmeet Oberoi wonders if the decision to move here was the right one.

"It is very, very stressful," she said.

"Sometimes I don't know how to survive here because, if we don't have the jobs here, then why are so many people coming here?"

[madwheelerz]

Manifestation Theory Supplement - What happened to Will + the Beginning

So, what happened to Will in season one exactly? Well, I think in the first timeline that Will died. As in he was murdered. Now you might be wondering who would murder Will like that and well season one certainly stresses the existence of as a very negative force in Will’s life.

Someone who knew he had just died. Someone who knew that his death occurred at the quarry and was ruled a suicide despite supposedly being in the city. Who other than Lonnie Byers. Lonnie who showed up just in time for the money and let’s say we’re in the one, the one being the timeline where Will is alive then the other 99…

This is where it gets me. That first DnD game is so important because in the initial timeline it would’ve been the last time Mike saw Will alive and happy so it’s something like a save point. Karen stops the game at 8:15 hence the importance of that time. So, Will goes home and Lonnie kills him. I’m not sure I can decode the specifics of how, but anyway Will dies.  

I think Mike’s main power up until this point was probably time manipulation/travel. A bit like El’s telekinesis it’s the first stage of said powers. After Will’s death Mike tries to rewind the timeline and completely override the first one except, he doesn’t necessarily fail, but he doesn’t succeed either instead we get whatever in the loony tunes is going on right now and why you might ask?

Because Mike most likely damaged his brain by attempting to rewind time like that. He most likely had some semblance of control over time before hand seeing as according to Dustin-

We learn that Mike is very good with time. Then we get to see Mike always seeming to lose track of his time. Later from El we see that pushing your power to the limit can damage your brain and cause amnesia.

So let’s say Mike rewinds time to his save point which would be 8:15, the time where he could consider things would’ve gone wrong because his mom stopped the game. Mike is twelve. He would not have had the power level necessary to pull that off and most definitely would’ve pushed way past his limit.

When El pushed past her limit she opened a gate. If Mike had reached a point where he pushed past his limit trying to destroy a timeline he considers failed and given himself brain damage, it’s possible that the manifestations started then. That would’ve been the perfect time for it to begin as a sort of consequence of time travel.

El, HNL, the upside-down, the Russian subplot, and more are products of this. They keep reflecting Mike too closely to be a complete coincidence. Mike just randomly starting to create things out of the blue without rhyme or reason doesn’t make sense, however, him trying to do something else and being met with a consequence because he released a large amount of energy does.

This would be the balance. Mike’s powers aren’t going to completely evil, but they aren’t going to be completely good either. It would force Mike to reconsider his black and white view of things because surely the thing that saved Will can’t be completely evil, but the things the came after can’t be completely good either.

Mike’s relationship with time is very peculiar. He’s got curfews, he’s being told to stop his games at specific times, his watch being such an important item that it’s one of the view to be on the right hand.

Both times when Mr. Clarke is talking about parallel universes and the vale, which we later refer to as the upside-down, Mike is just randomly in frame despite not really contributing to the conversation. This is similar to what happens when Dustin narrates what the “Vale of Shadows” is.

Will having died explains why all the Will-alikes keep dying despite Will dying at the end making no sense at all. Rather it’s a way to tell us that Will died, and his death is significant to the plot. Also, Billy being referred to as another him, so the other him dying and even having a grave.

Okay so, Mike isn’t necessarily manifesting on purpose, but beings keep escaping from his subconscious and as he grows older this power grows stronger. This is why Mike is the only one who seems to be able to become fully attuned to the motivations of places such as the upside-down or HNL.

They aren’t real. They’re a part of him and the only person who’s going to understand that in all it’s capacity is going to be him. Mike is the one who will be able understand the way he thinks the best. Now I don’t think that necessarily means he’ll be kind considering how much Mike likes to beat himself up.

El says she found the source followed by a picture of a rather intense closeup to Mike.

On that note they really kept pushing the idea that Lonnie killed Will only for it to be a fake out, but Lonnie is definitely still suspicious.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Hey quick question for ya. In your opinion, what are the?

Top 3 guys to date:

Top 3 guys to have an amazing one night stand with:

One guy of all the people you write for that you would wanna spend the rest of your life with? Why?

Top 3 Guys to Date:

Clark Kent/Superman (DC)

He's kind, strong, and sweet. The quintessential superhero and boyfriend. Beyond his powerful looks, he's just got so much to market him, whether it's his easygoing attitude and respect for people of all backgrounds, histories, and genders, or his godlike looks, or his commitment to justice, or even his abilities making him the perfect boyfriend to live with because he can do everything at the snap of a finger and more than that, actually likes to, he's just got tons going for him. The only thing keeping him from the "spending life with" category is probably the hero work putting him/me in danger, and all the difficulties that come with that.

Ryan Lucan (Life is Strange: True Colors)

He's just... awesome. He's a wonderful, understanding, empathetic, and caring person, and while he's got a little too much outdoorsiness for my taste, I can just imagine companionably living together as an indoor bf/outdoor bf couple. He's subtly implied to be part of the LGBT+ community, whether by being some kind of asexual or perhaps being bi, or both! But seeing how accepting and understanding he is, I'm sure I'd love to date him and work that out for ourselves. I guess the only thing keeping him from being spend life with material is that I don't know how compatible we'd be as individuals. Ryan's outdoorsy, has a big emphasis on family and community, and seems like he'd probably be a little bit vanilla when it comes to sensual exploration. Which is fine, but I don't know if that's what I want. Lemme date him for a while first and have talks and then I can get back to you on if he's true love material.

Alistair Theirin (Dragon Age: Origins)

A romantic, a prince of a guy. Funny, awkward and relatable, and just as willing to experiment as you want him to be. It's been weird, growing older than he is in Dragon Age Origins, but he's one of the few that'd be at a similar starting point. And though he can be a little prudish and judgmental, I think his mind is open enough to be a wonderful partner. I think the only thing keeping him from the spend life with column is that... I love him, but he's a work in progress. He's got his own opinions on certain topics, but in general he needs molding into who he's meant to be. And maybe that just comes from his youth in Origins, so give me Alistair three or five years into his twenties, and let's see who he is and if he's truly true love material.

Top 3 Guys to Have an Amazing One Night Stand With:

Benny Lafitte (Supernatural)

Benny's a great guy. Strong, moral, lovable, and possessed of a highly sexy accent. But he's just not looking for a relationship. I'd say it'd be more than a one night stand, probably a fling that could even work with ace people because Benny's the kind who prefers a connection anyhow. But it'd never be anything more, but maybe in a few hundred years?

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (DC)

Hit it and quit it. He's fun for a night but intolerable come morning. He'll probably be annoyingly clingy afterward and keep sending texts or booty calls. And he's hot and rich, so I guess I'd keep him on the line until someone better comes along. He's great for a one nighter cause he doesn't have as much trauma, sexual hangups, or kids as a certain other equivalent vigilante-moonlighting billionaire.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Marvel)

Okay. I'm sorry. Peter's great. I adore him. And he's canonically kinky with his webs when he's married to MJ (or talking to Deadpool). But here's the thing - everyone Peter establishes a long-term emotional relationship with dies. Whether it's by tragic accident, direct involvement from Peter and his villains, or simple overexposure to Peter's radioactive body fluids, anyone that goes past the "sexual tension from having done it once or twice in the past" stage DIES. He's sweet, but I ain't dying for him. One night is probably all you can get before you're in the danger zone.

One Guy to Rule Them All:

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

This may be surprising, but I'm specifically limiting this to Geralt in the Witcher video games. Henry Cavill is hot as Geralt, but show Geralt is hard to enjoy as he's got so little of the nuance of the character that I like in the games. And from what I can tell of the books, Book!Geralt is very much a broody whiny obviously-written-by-an-old-Polish-guy-with-opinions kind of character.

Geralt in the games is an awesome, nuanced character. He's got a biting, sarcastic wit that never goes fully into the annoying kind of MCU snark. He's strong and powerful, but not macho - he's got the vibes of being a very confident and happy submissive man, especially towards the powerful women in his life. He's kinky, he's educated, he has nuanced opinions on the world around him and an intriguing worldview that also consistently takes into account the greatest good, whether that be right by the laws of the time or not. He's a friend to artists and mages, to the little guy, and he will stop to help whoever needs him. He's a great father. He's a loyal partner, and a moral one. I love him.

[randomstuffngl]

if i was in charge of resetting the dcu :

my first film would be a Superman origin story titled smallville, where we deal with teen Clark( 14/15 yrfreshman)ft lana lang coming into his powers and wondering who he is and why he has these powers. The villain would be Mr. Mxyzptlk who is finding amusement from torturing teen Clark who is so confused. This is strictly a coming of age movie for Clark and family friendly. The end credit scene would be Clark getting his suit and going to stop a car chase that somehow made it to smallville. Post credits we see Alfred calling for bruce (13yrs)while brucey finds the cave filled with bats

Next film: Justice Society WW2

Characters: Doctor Fate(surprise character), hour-man, doctor mid nite, Wildcat, black canary,hawkman flash(jay garrick), Wonder Woman and Steve( he doesn’t die)

obv punching hitler is a scene, we get Easter eggs of wayne enterprises helping the war effort, creation of Argus by u.s gov in the end, the plot is basically getting the spear of destiny away from Hitler before he can change reality and take over the world; that’s basically the jist of it. Post credit: hawkman runs into shayera who hasn’t realized who she is yet, but when they make eye contact she sees a flash of a memory

Third film: Black Canary and Green Arrow

told threw the lens of Dinah(mostly centered around her), takes place when she’s in her 20’s, she trains with Ted grant( wildcat, who’s mantle has been passed down in the family), Dinah is seen busting drug and ppl trafficking, while she is kicking bad guy asses and arrow comes thru, enter Oliver who is newer than her in the hero business trying to help her, he assumes she’s a damsel in distress and immediately is like” toxic man?”, main villain: some mob/crime lord/cartel guy, she realizes that after spending some time with Oliver he’s a himbo…. They go out on a date, and she gets an anonymous text asking to meet. End credit we see brucie in a bat suit with trunks(he’s trying things out), asking her these things and then hands her a file with WW and asks if she know where she is(we see the file under it labeled; the Superman), before he leaves he’s like watch ur man and we will be in touch.

Ur more than welcome to add feedback, i was just super bored and was thinking of things that could possibly happen with the dceu reset but also have some similarity with the comics. Cause let’s be honest most ppl who watch these films at least want some sort of comic accuracy.James Gunn hire me lol