#hawks week 2020

[bishopony]

I think I was right to make my bg3 tav a druid cause every year a new animal decides to plague my life and not leave me alone. Last year it was mice. In 2019 it was hawks. This year it's wasps

[riis-reborn]

I have big emotions about Destiny

[snstse]

Posted August 29, 2024 by Capital B News.

“It has been four years since Breonna Taylor was killed inside her home by a hail of bullets fired by three Louisville, Kentucky, police officers. It has also been nearly four years since Vice President Kamala Harris uttered Taylor’s name in agreement that the 26-year-old first responder had not received justice when a grand jury declined to charge any of the shooting officers for causing her death.

Last week, Taylor’s family was hit with another devastating development in their journey for justice.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III dismissed a portion of the charges against former Louisville Metro Police Department Sgt. Kyle Meany and Detective Joshua Jaynes, who were accused of starting a chain of events that led to Taylor’s death. The remaining civil rights charges reduce the maximum punishment from life in prison to up to a year in jail.

The judge concluded that Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was responsible for her March 13, 2020, death because he fired a warning shot that hit an officer in the thigh. As a result, the injured officer and two other plainclothes officers returned fire for “self-protection,” the judge ruled — negating Walker’s constitutional rights as a legal gun owner, and his rights under the state’s Castle Doctrine, better known as the stand your ground law.

The decision to blame Taylor’s boyfriend for her death, and not the officers, is another stark reminder of the need for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which includes ending qualified immunity, advocates said.”

—

*data as of August 28, 2024.

Source: Mapping Police Violence

“Since 2020, the number of people, especially Black people, killed by the police has continued to rise, according to the Mapping Police Violence database. So far this year, 212 Black lives have been lost during encounters with police, nearing the 264 killed in 2020.

Researchers behind Mapping Police Violence released a new database Wednesday that focuses on nonfatal police encounters in the United States between 2017 and 2022, the Guardian first reported. The database found that in each year, over 300,000 people experienced use of force by police that includes chemical sprays, K-9 dog attacks, neck restraints, stun guns as well as beanbags and baton strikes.

Black people are more susceptible to nonfatal police violence than being killed by police, the report found.

Hawk Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York and Black Opportunities, wrote in an email to Capital B that the organization’s Black Agenda 2024 consists of dozens of proposed policies created by a multigenerational group of leaders from across the country, and for people who “don’t attend your churches or community meetings, engage in local politics, or take your polls.”

The agenda addresses ending qualified immunity to allow families of police violence to personally sue an officer in question. It also calls to ““declare a war on poverty” to reallocate funds from “ineffective public initiatives — including law enforcement — to address the social determinants of health.””

If the latter goes in effect, ““it would prevent the necessity for cases like Breonna Taylor’s because we would be attacking the root cause of crime, which brings down crime rates,” Newsome said, adding, ““Less crime means politicians are less likely to allow illegal and overzealous policing.””

[alababwa]

i just realized i never uploaded this here, but i did this back in 2020 for mako week on twitter

Day 1 of #makoweek: CHILDHOOD — Have proud papa San with his first born son Mako! Mostly because it's rare to see San art lol. 🧣 floofy baby hair makes me nostalgic for when my sister was really little and had lots of hair that stuck out like this. it was very easy to form into a faux-hawk or spikes or anything really lol. now i'm seeing the same with my cousin's kid he recently had.

[princessbrunette]

OUTERBANKS: THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE AU — THE LORE ♡

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

CW: depressing tones, violence, death, blood, gore.

AN: okay, so i don’t really know what this is — but i wanted to open this up as an au i could write drabbles for with reader x character and i decided to write some extensive lore behind the universe i’m creating. i’ve always loved zombie media so i wanted to combine my fav things n create this little au for you guys. this isn’t really a fic but more so an opener to inspire drabble requests n ideas in my inbox, kind of like an experimentation. okay, hope you enjoy !! ౨ৎ

“We got gate one locked down, I repeat Pope— we got gate one locked down. Proceed with opening gate two. Over.”

“Got it, thanks JJ. Over.”

The squealing of mechanics shakes the dusty ground as the old gates begin to slowly slide, squealing as they open up revealing the long forest road up ahead. John B readies himself for a simple supply stake out, headed out alone to check out an old warehouse one of the runners had scoped out a week prior. As he exits the gates, he looks right and then looks left — stepping on the squishy skull of a previously dealt with Infected, its body lulling out from the old rickety grafitti’d sign reading Kitty Hawk.

The world went to shit back in 2020. Some sort of pandemic that had people biting others, their brains overpowered by aggression and hunger for flesh. One day everyone was cleaning up the beaches after Storm Agatha, the next day people were tearing into flesh right infront of your very eyes. At first, the people of the Outerbanks had moved out onto their boats, living out on the water with the occasional supply run. It worked for a while, the infected couldn’t swim so as long as your boat was afloat — you were safe from their bloody unforgiving jaws. However, supplies started to run out pretty fast, and people began to turn on eachother. Hopping boats and pirating until no one was left standing and the water was tainted with blood— the infected gathered on the shore to feast on the bodies slowly being washed up by the tide.

The pogues had found you by week six, your body curled on the pier by the Chateau crying into your hands having lost everyone you’d ever known. You were sure to soon perish— no supplies, no weapons, no food. Life had become bleak, hopeless — until for the first time in your life you’d felt the cold barrel of a pistol pressed to the back of your head.

“Who are you and why are you out here?” Kiara barks, a khaki green bandana tied to cover her nose and mouth.

“I’m— i’m just looking for shelter. I don’t have any weapons on me I swear I’m safe, please just —”

“Are you bit?”

“No!”

“Turn around.”

When you slowly turn, you’re met with two female faces, one more familiar than the other. Besides Kiara stands Sarah Cameron— a girl you went to school with. She looks more unsure than Carerra, hand resting on the pocket knife wedging out of the waistband to her denim shorts.

“I don’t think she’s bit Kie… hey, I think I know this girl.”

It was Sarah who had convinced Kiara to bring you back to the Chateau and let you stay. It was also Sarah who got you accustomed, explaining the role everyone played. She was a negotiator, her social ranking in the old world aiding her in communicating with people outside of the barricades they’d made. Kie was in charge of supplies, stock take and recruiting. She decided who was in and who was out. Pope was the brains, did all the mathematical equations to help the group understand their circumstances and chances of survival better. JJ, a fighter — most skilled in dealing with firearms and building bombs, which came in pretty handy when clearing out what was left of Kitty Hawk. John B was their leader, he often came up with the main strategies and stuck his neck out on the line.

Everyone was their own cog in the well oiled machine they’d built to aid them in surviving an apocalypse. It was uncertain what you could bring to the group until you’d mentioned that you’d been studying to be a nurse.

“S’good thing you come in useful ‘cus I was totally gonna suggest we use you as bait. Y’know, cos of the whole doe eyed damsel in distress thing you got goin’ on.” JJ jests with a smirk, and you don’t miss the way his eyes linger on you to make sure you knew he was only kidding around.

You became a lot more useful for patching people up once you’d cleared out Kitty Hawk. The pogues and yourself had began to collect a larger group of survivors, creating a small town to live in what once was the behavioural-correctional camp. You’d collected gardeners, seamstresses, doctors — people of all ages looking for shelter and safety to live in the many dormitories the land had to offer. You had the evening shifts, patching up any runners that had return from their time outside of the gates with injuries.

You remember the day Sarah got bit so clearly.

The Twinkie had come barrelling through the gates so fast, the townspeople that protected the entrances barely getting them open in time before the vehicle was speeding in— Kiara and John B ushering the blonde out the doors yelling out for you urgently with devastation in their voices, begging you to amputate the arm she’d been bitten on.

The pogues had gone for what was promised to be a civil meeting with Ward and Rafe Cameron. The two had taken over what was left of Kildare, creating a strong colony in a gated community that Ward had just come into possession of right before the outbreak. They were feared, respected — and they wanted Sarah to return to them.

Of course, the meeting was a set up— and when Sarah had refused to go with them — they opened fire, attracting rogue infected to swarm in on the group. In the chaos, Sarah was bitten — and JJ in a fit of rage had shot Ward Cameron straight through the skull infront of his only son. This started an all out war.

You recall arriving to Sarah, and your heart sinking. It was definitely too late, her eyes blood shot and skin uncharacteristically pale. She was whispering “Its okay.” Over and over. You wasn’t sure if she was convincing you or herself.

Kiara took her out to the forest to put her out of her misery before she got the chance to turn into one of the brainless monsters that had existed outside the gates. She was stronger than you could ever be, holding back her tears as she aims the barrel to the blondes head. You weren’t there, but you heard the gunshot as you were patching up JJ who was skimmed by a bullet. You slept by his side that night without uttering a word about it.

Everyone got a little more serious from that point on. You often stared at the heart with her initials she’d carved into her old bunkbed that now sits empty in her dorm, her things laid out like she was still coming back to collect them one day. John B got a little more stern as a leader, over protective of you as he made it clear he didn’t believe you’d be able to protect yourself out there — banning you from leaving the gates. JJ became a more ferocious fighter, busying himself with target practice out in the forest shooting bullseyes each day to ensure he could quickly take down whoever he needed to. Pope got more reserved, more moody — hanging out by himself infront of maps or in the radio room with Kie trying to find new survivors. Occasionally, just occasionally — the bunch of you would get together and drink round a camp fire. Things would feel normal again, just for one night — the group laughing and telling stories the same way they might have done before the outbreak.

You wondered how long this could last, if there was ever an end to any of this. You also wondered if there was a reason to it all happening, if you were being punished for the way you’d behaved as human beings. Mostly though, on a day to day basis— you wondered when Rafe Cameron would return for his revenge. It was only a matter of time.

[fuck-customers]

🧶

Some years ago (in 2020), we hired a new keyholder who happened to have the same first name as the store leader, let’s call them both Alex. They’re both women so we couldn’t differentiate by calling them male vs female, and while we could’ve called them Alex A and Alex B because they have different last initials, the floor associates very quickly started calling them Good Alex (store leader) and Bad Alex (new manager). One of Bad Alex’s favorite things to do was scream at the teenagers on staff, and one of those incidents got her her first write-up. Her second came from one of said teens (I’m gonna call her Jen) giving me a heads up that Bad Alex had been talking to her/complaining about not liking that I don’t wear bras. Keep in mind Jen was sixteen years old and Bad Alex had to be in her 30s or at least late 20s, I was 26. I already didn’t like her before that, but after I started being petty to her as much as I could (she’d put things on hold for weeks waiting for them to go on sale, and I started putting them away the next day, sometimes even buying the items myself when they were the last one 😈)

In early 2021 Bad Alex finally got fired for theft, but the wildest part out of all of this is that she still comes in on occasion to shop. We are a chain store with multiple locations within 20 minutes of this one, it legitimately boggles my mind why she doesn’t just go to one of them. Literally nobody liked her, not even her favorites, why can’t she just fuck off and let us forget she ever existed.

The reason she comes back to your store is the fact you all hate her. You will tend to avoid her while she's walking around and not greeting her, and you are giving her the perfect opportunity to steal more merch from you guys. If she went to a store that didn't know her they would watch her like a hawk.

-Rodney

[majorbaby]

going thru my drafts tonight and here's a post i found where i attempted to liveblog the most important episode of MASH, s01e03 requiem for a lightweight while trying out a new strain and then gave up it looks like... about 20 minutes in. anyway, the formatting is weird.

- margie takes it so seriously when hawkeye prompts her to say "yes doctor darling" lol and when i started making this note it was to ask why is she so profesh about the correction ??? does want him that bad? But her delivery isn't flirty and as i (struggle) to type i realize it's because she thinks "darling" is his last name. lmao. benjamin franklin "hawkeye" darling, MD. did everyone know this was the joke??

- blowjob mention YES:

hawkeye: (as if asking for another instrument) kiss?

margie: ... what?

hawkeye: ... surprise me ;)

(bold, racy writing for a 70s comedy show resembles 2020s tinder conversation)

- lol

margie @ hawktrap: do you two wanna be alone????

hawkeye: yes... but not necessarily with each other ;)

(this is the heaviest lift the word "necessarily" has ever done in all of human history)

- lol 2

hawkeye: [jokingly denies having gone to medschools..claims he was a transmission mechanic] if u free later this aft ill be glad to put you up on my lift ;)

(A/N: Ohhhhhh i need to know what a transmission does. I need to know how specific a sex joke this is. He's putting her on the lift? He is checking under her hood? The exhaust has a hole 🤔)

at last. a solid way to get me to learn anything about cars.)

- traphawk should fight over oliver like this and agree to share him too.

- they both bring margie gifts they stole from other people in the camp. trapper brings flowers. hawkeye brings stockings. what to glean from this.

- trapper jokes he's gonna spend the whole week in bed with margie.

- "a ✨️moral defective✨️ like yourself"

- trapper just smileesss and offers to share with hawkeye 🥰 who is such a rat in this one wtf hawkeye

- Wait. This one.

Hawk to margie: "Youre the best thing to happen to this place since dry socks" .. like the kind you jerk off into???? Need to check if this is anachronistic. If not so far we're at: blowjobs, devil's threesomes and male masturbation sexual acts that prioritize sex for pleasure over sex for procreation. this is the most important episode of MASH.

- hawkeye this guy knocks out jeeps

[star-struck01]

Hot-Headed Chicken

You make Hawks mad by eating something of his and he realizes he's being stupid

Masterlist

(Not my photo)

Keigo "Hawks" Takami x GN!Reader

Word Count: 1781

Written:12/09/2020

Edited: 05/23/2023

"Y/N!!!!" Your name vibrated through the halls, and pictures actually shook against the walls. You turned your head in the direction where the booming voice came from. Frowning slightly, you yelled back just as loudly. 

"WHAT?!?!" You were currently sitting in the living room watching some crappy TV show that held most of your attention, but with the ever-growing sounds of heavy footsteps getting closer, your attention started to drift. You snapped back to reality when a body blocked your vision of the couples that wouldn't last a week if it wasn't filmed. You glanced up to see bright red feathers slightly ruffled and an angry No. 2 hero glaring down at you. You tilted your head to the side with an eyebrow raised, as if saying, "Go on," with your body.

"Did you eat my chicken nuggets?" He visibly seethed, his wings raising as if to intimidate you, making sure that all of your attention was on him.

"Oh...yeah so?" You shrugged your shoulders and shifted on the couch to try and see the TV again. Hawks stumbled back from the shock as if you had told him that the two of you were done. In his mind, you just did.

"...So? SO?! Y/N, those were MY chicken nuggets, and YOU ate them." He looked at you bewildered, and you looked right back at him, trying to figure out why he was so upset.

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry, they weren't with your stuff in the fridge, so I assumed they were leftovers from last night." You shifted a little on the couch from his  glare, the intensity making you feel a little uncomfortable.

"I was saving them for later!" He turned his head away, groaning and rubbing his hands down his face, his head already pounding because of an earlier villain fight that probably resulted in him gaining a concussion. "Jesus, don’t you ever think about anyone but yourself?" He glared at you with annoyance and irritation through the corner of his eye. The second that sentence left his mouth, he quickly realized his mistake and snapped his head over to you just in time to catch the look of pure shock and hurt on your face. Because his statement was wrong, all you did was think of others; you were the sweetest person he knew and always gave people a second chance if they deserved it. Tears began to roll down your cheeks, and you looked away as you quickly wiped at them. "Wait, kid, I didn’t mean it!" Keigo got down on his knees and shuffled closer, quickly trying to apologize for what he said.

"Keigo…" You stood up, keeping your eyes trained on anywhere but him. He gulped and began to prepare himself for the absolute worst as you started walking to the entryway. "You started this over chicken nuggets. Which, might I add, you could have easily made or bought more of, but instead you threw a fit because I ate six measly chicken nuggets. And I don't think of anyone but myself? Try again." You look over your shoulder at him with tears slowly running down your face. Scoffing as you grabbed your coat and slid your shoes on, you snatched your bag that had your keys, ID, and other necessities off the floor, muttering something about him being immature. He quickly rushed after you, but you turned around completely to glare at him. "I’m going to stay somewhere else until you can learn to man up and not act like a 5-year-old. If I wanted to hang out with children, I would have gone to the nearby preschool. Goodbye Keigo" You opened the door and left without Keigo getting a word in or trying to persuade you to stay. He made his way slowly back to the couch and sat down where you were just occupying it. Looking at the TV where the crappy show was still playing, he watched it for a bit, letting it distract him just a little before his mind wandered back to you. He thought of what he could do to make you come back, but he just kept coming up empty-handed, and after a couple of minutes, he fell asleep, missing you and regretting what he did.

Months had passed since your fight, and Keigo was dying without you. He's just being dramatic, though; it's only been two days since your fight, and he's wallowing in self-pity and missing you greatly. You were missing him just as much, but you were still waiting for an apology that the other couldn’t find the words for. Keigo's days off were over, and he had to go back to work. Instead of flying, he decided to walk since flying seemed pointless without you, as you were his metaphorical wings, holding him up when things got bad. So he walked, and he walked right by Midoriya, who stopped walking and turned around, confused as to why he'd see the No. 2 walking while he was on his way to school. Maybe it was a wing fracture? It didn't matter; he just had to stop the hero, so he moved in front of Hawks, successfully stopping him so he could ask him what was wrong if he was walking. Surprised, Keigo looked down at the green-haired OFA user. "I...It's nothing of your concern." He walked around him and continued walking before the short boy moved in front of him again, looking at him pointedly. Hawks sighed and tilted his head side to side as if weighing the options before telling Midoriya, "Fine, I got into a fight with my partner over something stupid. Are you happy now?" He glared slightly at Midoriya, who, in turn, just shook his head, waiting for him to give him more information. "Jesus, okay, it was over them eating chicken nuggets that were mine. It happened a couple of days ago." He looked down, disappointed in himself.

"You fought over that?!" Midoriya was bewildered; the No. 2 hero fought over something as little as who ate who's chicken nuggets. Hawks gave the boy a disappointed nod. "And it's been two days? How are you going to make it up to them after that?" Midoriya asked with a raised eyebrow, all while tilting his head.

"I don’t know yet." Hawks rubbed his lower face and looked away from Midoriya so he co

uldn’t see how embarrassed he was, but he didn’t have to because Midoriya could practically see the embarrassment and disappointment seeping off of Keigo in waves.

"I mean, just an idea; you could always apologize to them with something they like. Works with most couples, but that doesn't mean you should buy back their forgiveness." The little OFA user glared slightly at the older man, and just as Hawks’ eyes lit up, he rushed home, yelling thank you to the now very late schoolboy.

An hour later, Hawks began to put his plan into action; he would "bump" into you on your way to work and apologize to you with a gift you hopefully liked. He stealthily walked in the direction of your work just as you were headed towards the entrance. Keigo hid the gift behind his back and rushed over to you, using his wings to propel him faster. He moved in front of you and spread his wings out so you couldn't go by him and his stupid big firetruck-red wings. "Y/N, please listen to me!"

It took a second for your brain to catch up, but once it did, you looked him right in the eyes with a slight glare. "What do you want, Hawks? Are you finally here to apologize?" You questioned him with a slight annoyance.

"Yes! Exactly! I wanted to come apologize to you, Y/N." He grabbed your hand with his free hand, the other still behind his back. You remembered how those hands would encircle your waist when you were cuddling on the couch after a long day of work, watching those crappy TV shows that you both loved to make fun of. You shook yourself of the thought and sighed before looking up and waiting for him to continue. The people around you looked at the sight of the No. 2 hero, and you, Hawks, didn't hide your relationship. You could practically see the shared thought above their heads: "What is he apologizing for?" You focused back on Hawks as he smiled awkwardly. What a funny sight to see the pretty boy No. 2 hero looking awkward. "I’m so sorry, sunshine. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you for such a stupid thing as eating my chicken nuggets."

You sigh and tilt your head side to side as if weighing the options, which he picked up from you. You look back up at him, looking hurt. "I don’t know Hawks; you really hurt my feelings the other day over that." He begins to rub his thumb over your knuckles as a nervous tic, thinking of what to say next without making you mad or before you leave.

"N/N, please let me make it up to you." He began kneeling and moving the hand that was behind his back into view. Everyone in the vicinity who was watching the two interact gasped and began to film the pair. You lean back slightly, shocked and thinking the same thing as everyone else: you were going to be proposed to as an apology. That was until you saw what he was holding. You burst out laughing just as Hawks pulled out a box of chicken nuggets and held it out to you. You pulled him to a stand and wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a long and passionate kiss.

You're still laughing as you finally part for air. You smile widely. "I could never stay mad at you forever, you birdbrain." The crowd is cheering and laughing at how you two show affection. Despite how stupid this fight was, Keigo was yours and you were his, and the two of you weren't parting for a long time.

"Hey kid, why don’t we go back home and watch some crappy TV shows? We'll call in sick." He says this as he pulls you closer, and you nod your head as you hold onto him tightly. He picks you up bridal style and takes off into the air in the direction of your house. The wind is flowing through both of your hairs as he looks down and smiles at you. "I love you, "Y/N."

You smile back at him and lean up slightly to kiss his cheek. "I love you too, Keigo."

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Spring 2020 - JAG Headquarters Naval Base San Diego

Chapter 6 Part 2 of You Are My Soulmate

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x Reader

Description: Being at an inquiry has been incredibly difficult. It always is, from what Bradley's heard. But that the inquiry is for his soulmate and he can't do anything to help makes it worse. When the verdict is awarded, all he can do is hold his soul as she sobs with relief. Maybe this is the chance for him to make things right with her?

Disclaimers: Misogynistic speech. Mentioned Homosexual Relationships. Angst. Flagrant disregard for protocols or Authority. Angst. Anguish. The author has no idea how Navy inquiries go (so take all the legalese with a grain of salt).

This content presented in this story is for audiences age 18 and over only. MINORS DNI. I will not be accepting tag-list requests from Blank or Ageless Blogs for this story.

Warnings: Female!Reader

Word Count: 3792

A/N: Can Rooster fix things with his soulmate? I hope so! We're going to see a lot more of Rooster and Tinkerbell together over the next chapters! I hope you all adore it!

I’m neither a law professional nor in the US Navy. In this more than any chapter for this story I’ve written, I implore you to ignore the pseudo-legalese and my fragrant lack of knowledge regarding military inquiry protocol.

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted Here!

My Masterlist

Previous Part | Series Masterlist | Next Part

Rooster

In the unspeakably tense moments after Commander Marks requests the charges against Tinkerbell dropped, Bradley reels, quietly sitting in his chair. He’d known Hawk was responsible for his accident; he’d been told so weeks ago. But seeing the footage, seeing Hawk affix something to his jet maliciously, deliberately, is something he cannot fathom. He wouldn't be here to testify if he had been just a touch more reckless and rash. And where would his actions leave Tinkerbell? 

It had shocked him, seeing her vivacious eyes and smiling mouth dull and stern. She’d looked entirely unlike the firecracker he’d come to admire. The stress had bowed those strong shoulders, bent her proud neck, and caused an imperceptible shiver in those petite, calloused, usually grease-stained fingers. She had looked like an entirely different person in the courtyard during the recess Pops had so willingly granted. With dark, deep-set bags under her eyes, she’d looked so tired yet so indescribably gorgeous he’d fought his way through the crowd to sit beside her, to provide some of his own strength to his flagging soul. The longer they sat there, the more he’d had to concentrate on hearing her quiet, beaten-down voice, the stronger his resolve had grown, and the more his soul had seemed to sing.

She is yours. Yours. Yours. Yours. MINE

He’s sure more than ever Tinkerbell is his. He just has to redeem himself. After all, Bradshaws don’t have platonic soulmates. Bradley’s more than aware of the rumors floating through the Navy about his dads - both his adoptive duo and his birth. When he was just figuring out the rough landscapes of love, Mav sat him down and explained the different bonds people could have - the different loves they could bear. Goose, Mav had explained, had more bonds than anyone he knew. Goose was a man of love, fiery and bright at times and syrupy slow at others, wrapping people in his heart like they were made to belong there. Goose had been so filled with love for his mother it had been palpable even when he spoke about her. That same love he’d extended to his wingmen, those few colleagues whom he considered friends and brothers.

“Bradshaws are big-hearted, Bradley. Your mom has a big heart, and so did your dad. I know you have a heart bigger than both your parents.”

He hadn’t realized how true Mav’s statement was until he was thousands of miles away from his family, alone and cold, with only a new-found fiery sister of his heart to keep him company. Since those dark, cold early days, he’s shared his love with more friends, reclaimed his family, and built lasting friendships with the other Daggers. Only his friendship, his love, keeps him from lurching to his feet as Hawk spews his poison about women in the service, like the two women he mentioned aren’t worth easily ten times as much to the Navy as he is. Both of those women are more than capable of fighting their own battles.

For Natasha Trace, his robust and fiery protector and best friend and sister, all rolled into one person, Hawk’s words are a cross too heavy to bear. Bradley doesn’t stop her. How could he when he’s aware of how hard she’s had to work to get to where she is? It doesn’t surprise him when the other Daggers stand in solidarity next to him, inadvertently blocking the MPs from disturbing Natasha from her task. It’s Jake and Javy, sharing a look he can’t decipher who collect her, her chest heaving, her eyes wild as she stares at Hawk’s battered face with unadulterated rage. This isn’t calm, cool, collected Natasha Trace. This is Phoenix standing there, flames crackling under her skin with all the forces of a vengeful god as she stares at the downed figure of the man who has hurt friends twice over.

When the MPs haul Hawk upright again, his nose is broken, bright red gushing out of the appendage as lurid bruises bloom to life around his eyes. At that moment, it’s more than apparent who still has strength and poise and is the proper Naval Officer between the pair. Hint: It’s not the man listing on his feet and unable to salute the COMPACFLT of the US Navy or meet his eyes as he stalks out of the room. It’s the slim, dark-haired woman with fire in her eyes and pure steel for a spine with bruised, broken knuckles held unflinchingly in a salute. Now, he sees the warrior she is, the strength in his best friend, as the Daggers move in a coordinated mass of highly awarded personnel, collect Tinkerbell, and walk out of JAG Headquarters.

Neither of the women surrounded by the Daggers breaks until they’re deep in the parking lot. Tinkerbell breaks first, her sobs quiet, barely withheld gasps of pain as her fear drains away. It’s like an earthquake shattering Bradley’s calm. He pushes his crutches into someone’s hands - maybe Payback or Fanboy- and stumbles to her. It’s telling, he thinks suddenly, when neither Jake nor Javy stops him as he limps by. But when Tink’s face tips up, tears making glistening tracks down her cheeks, he can’t resist pulling her close. He can feel the shudder in her frame as she buries her face into his chest and cries like she can’t believe she won, or more likely, like she can’t accept her win in addition to Hawk’s defeat. Bradley hasn’t stood on his feet in so long that the strain is evident as his aching muscles hold her weight in addition to his own. But he will not fold to his body’s whims, not at this moment. He’s surrounded by the citrus scent of her perfume, her hair like silk against his fingers, catching at the rough pads as he holds her close. When her arms wrap around his waist, clutching tight and pulling him in closer, he finally breathes a sigh of relief. This is where he belongs, where she does - wrinkled dress uniforms be damned.

He's not sure if Nat breaks or when she does, not until later when he's been unwillingly parted from his soul and after he's showered and been able to sit with the knowledge he's been granted during the trial.

“You like her, don't you, Rooster?” Bradley shrugs, careful not to jostle her hand in his as he cleans the split, bruised knuckles. “I mean, I wasn’t sure if you did, not for the longest time. But that embrace outside of JAG today? That’s when I knew for sure.”

“It feels inevitable, Nat. Like I was always meant to.” She lets him avoid her gaze, lets him stay rapt in the careful, slow disinfection of her wounds. Nat hasn't flinched once, despite how much the rubbing alcohol must hurt.

“She's your soulmate, isn’t she?” Bradley gasps a little, his words getting trapped as he tapes Nat’s knuckles up and busies himself with putting away the roll of gauze and all the ointments he used in their proper places. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Bradley shrugs. “Would you believe it if I said I didn’t know?”

“How is that possible?” Nat’s pacing circles into the tile of Bradley’s kitchen, her hands restlessly tapping against her thighs as she moves. “Didn’t you have the dreams leading you to her all along?”

“I’ve only had a single soul dream since turning 21, Nat.” Bradley’s gentle as he pushes his best friend onto the soda. 

“It happened in the middle of the night on the first carrier I was posted to after flight school.” Bradley can hear her realization as he dips into his fridge for several beer bottles.

“Wait, did this happen at the same time you crashed?” His smile is rueful as he hands his best friend one of the bottles.

Bradley sips on the cold liquid, suddenly needing something to whet his parched throat. “Yeah, Nat. It was the same day I woke up with the scars on my face. It was also the day I swore not to find my soulmate.”

“Why would you do that, you idiot?” Hearing the anguish in her voice, Bradley jerks his head up. What he sees is something he’s not seen in years. A tear is tracking down Natasha Trace’s cheek, anguish in her eyes. The last time he saw Nat cry was when she’d earned her callsign, her first ejection from a flaming fireball. There was abject terror, fear, and a strong sense of her own mortality in her that day. This time, the pain is for a completely different reason as she rockets to her feet.

“You know!” Her arms curl around her ribcage like she’s trying to give herself a frantic, unwelcoming hug. “You know how much I would give to have my soulmate. I would have given anything to wake up on my twenty-first birthday and have a name on my wrist in bold black. Not one faded to the color of my skin.” When he reaches for her, she slaps his hands away. “I would give anything to have a chance. So, do you want to run this by me again? Why you didn’t want to find yours?”

“I….” Bradley can’t lie, not when his best friend looks so angry and sad. “I didn’t want to risk someone else’s happiness. Not when I know how dangerous it is, doing what we do, Nat.”

“I was two years old when my dad died. We were here on North Island, Mom and I. We’d come down the weekend before to see him. He’d promised to take me to a baseball game after Hop 31 because it was supposed to be a half day. When it happened, it felt like my world stopped, Nat. My mom crashed to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. I’m sure now that she felt the moment he died. She was nearly catatonic, Nat. I had to let the Admirals in when they came to tell us he was gone as she screamed, wailed, and sobbed.”

When Bradley looks up at his best friend, he knows tears are cascading down his face, mirroring hers. “How, Nat? How could I put someone else through the pain I’ve already felt once in my life? I’m sure now that feeling my dad’s death killed my Mom, Nat. She wasn’t the same afterward. I had Mav and his own soulmate, sure. But it wasn’t the same. I should have had my dad.”

“What changed your mind, then?” Bradley knows that Nat’s forgiven him. “It had to have changed sometime between then and now. Because the way you held her after we left headquarters? That embrace wasn’t platonic.”

“I nearly died during the accident, Nat. One month in a coma and all of the rehab after it showed me how fragile my life is. I’m not ready to waste another minute of it. Tinkerbell….” Bradley can’t hide the joy on his face, expressing itself in a soft smile. “She feels so right to be around. I haven’t been happy over the past few months. But talking to her during the recess Admiral Kazansky granted? I felt happy and light. I felt like I found the place where I belonged.”

When Nat collapses onto the sofa beside him, he knows he’s won this disagreement.

“So what are you going to do? How are you going to whoo her?”

It’s a question Bradley doesn’t have the answer to. Everything in him still screams he should attempt to be her friend first. He mulls it over through the night, waking up feeling unrested yet filled with nervous energy. Unsurprisingly, though, his day on base is filled with paperwork. He’s still a month from being cleared to fly, and filing reports for the Admirals is all he’s allowed to do. Maybe Mav will let him help with training one of these days?

It's when he goes in search of his godfather that he meanders past Hangar Two. A Welcome Back banner is spread across the back wall, and a few strands of sparkly tinsel are strewn across the floor. Besides that, it seems to be business as usual for the AMDO team. But Bradley can’t see Tinkerbell. She usually wanders with her tablet in hand, chatting and laughing with her team. He loiters near the open hangar door for a few moments but eventually leaves when he sees maintenance crew members approaching.

Unsurprisingly, when Bradley tracks Mav down, he's ecstatic to have help with the lesson plans. It feels good talking about flying. That one afternoon has him dreaming about flying again. He can’t wait to get back into the cockpit of his jet. He never does find Tinkerbell that day on base. Nor does he find her during the next one or the one after that. It worries him not seeing her around the base. Commander Grayson is still lurking around, his face expressionless as he leads the AMDO team that should rightfully be hers. The case of the missing Tinkerbell concerns him, so much so that he keeps an unconscious eye out for her and her pretty red convertible even when he's out running errands in the Bronco the following weekend.

It's a beautiful spring day. The sun is out, a delicious breeze is blowing in from the ocean, and Bradley feels at peace. Bradley’s out purchasing Goose’s favorite beer and Ice’s favorite vodka for the freezer as a favor to Mav. It’s been a very long time since he’s had the chance to celebrate his dad’s birthday with his dad’s closest friends. Most of his dad’s Top Gun cohort are flying into North Island - Hollywood, Wolfman, Slider, Merlin, Chipper, Sundown - the whole gang will be in the same place again for the first time since ‘86. Bradley hopes they won’t hold a grudge against him for the years of no contact. 

When he pulls his car into the parking lot of The Hard Deck hours before opening, he's surprised to see the cherry red convertible he's been searching for all week right there. When he saunters into the bar, she’s not in there. He’s half aware of what he’s saying as he gives Mav’s colossal drink list to Penny. But really, he’s jumping at every sound in the building, every creak, moan, and groan as the sea-soaked wooden surfaces settle around them. His head is on a swivel, and his eyes are peeled for one person’s sweet smile and melodious voice.

“Bradley?” He yanks his attention back to Penny, who has known him since he was a baby, with a sheepish grin.

“She’s out on the beach.” He starts, looking at her. “Pete told me a little bit of what’s happened. She was meant for you. Go to her. It looks like she needs you. It will take me a while to compile this ridiculous drinks list anyway. Of course, Pete would need upwards of 5 gallons of alcohol!”

Bradley feels like he’s living in an alternate universe as he staggers onto the sand. Everyone in his life seems content to step back and let the Fates drag Tinkerbell and him together. Why doesn’t anyone seem to see how much he’s hurt her? Why doesn’t anyone seem to see how much he has hurt himself? Why is nobody threatening him - ordering him to take care of her? Do they only see what he does in the mirror? The sad, sorry soul covered in scars who only wants to make her smile? The person who never wants to see her cry again? Or do they see the villainous knave who will break her heart? Bradley’s no longer sure what he’ll see in a mirror - the protector or the heartbreaker.

All the questions get washed out with the tide as he finally sees Tinkerbell. She’s in a tie-dye print white sundress, toes stretched out in the sand as the tide wets them. Her hair is loose around her face, whipped around by the wind, and if the sight of her doesn’t take his breath away, her smile at the sight of him does. He can see it now as he staggers unsteadily across the sand on his crutches, the sweet grin, her lips looking plush and glistening in the sunlight.

“Hi, Bradley.” He wobbles a little at the naked affection in her voice, plonking down almost too heavily onto the blanket she’s sitting on. Half his ass is on the blanket, and the other half is definitely in damp sand, but he doesn’t mind. Not when she giggles at him and then grabs his crutches to lay them carefully out on her other side.

“Hi, Tinkerbell.” He lets himself lean just until his arm brushes hers. It’s silent out here, just the air rifling through his hair and clothes, snatching at the full skirt of Tinkerbell’s pretty sundress.

“What’re you doing out here, Bradley?” Bradley can’t believe how good his name sounds falling out of his soulmate’s mouth. 

“I came to buy some drinks from Penny.” Faced with Tink’s big doe eyes and soft smile, Bradley lets the whole story spill, telling Tinkerbell about the annual celebration for Goose Bradshaw that Mav plans.

“It must be nice,” There’s a faraway look in her eyes as she looks out of the blue ocean. “To have so much family coming to see you, to celebrate your father’s life even after so many years.”

“Where are your folks, Tink?” Her head jerks up, mouth parting in shock as her cheeks flush. She wraps her arms around her knees, resting her cheek on her knees, facing him. The new position allows Bradley to see the smooth skin of her back and a glimpse of stark ink curling around her right side. It’s too soon to kiss her soft skin, right?

“My parents are on the East Coast.” There’s something sad in her voice as she clutches her knees to her chest like she’s holding in her emotions. “I haven’t seen them in a few years. Not since before I was on the Nimitz.”

“I’ve been on or deploying out of the West Coast for much of the last decade. I talk to them on the phone whenever I can, but it never feels like it’s enough. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be with my family. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be loved by a family.”

Bradley can sense the despair in her voice as he scoots closer and mirrors her position as much as he can. “Can I tell you a secret?”

At her shy nod, he takes a breath before fishing in the pocket of his jeans for a handkerchief. He hands the folded-up, square of fabric to her.

“You also gave me one of these in the atrium during the inquiry.” Her voice is soft as she traces over the embroidered name and monogram on the fabric.

“Yeah.” Bradley’s voice quiets even further. This close, all he can smell is the salty sea breeze and the citrus of Tinkerbell’s perfume. “Those kerchiefs belonged to my dad, Nicolas Edward Bradshaw. They were an anniversary present from my mom to him for their fourth wedding anniversary. These kerchiefs are one of the few things I remember about my dad, Tink. Every time I cried, my dad used to swoop in with one of these kerchiefs, the ones my mom always ironed and lightly starched for him. It was a labor of love for her. He even had one of these kerchiefs in his flight suit the day he died. I’ve been carrying them around with me ever since my eighteenth birthday because I needed a little bit of Goose Bradshaw’s indomitable spirit when I thought I was alone.”

“I’m sorry, Bradley.” He takes her hand in his at her apology, drawing them up until he can kiss her knuckles. 

“You’ve nothing to be sorry about. What I wanted to say is that I remember these kerchiefs in his hands. I remember the smell of the starch my mom used. I remember how soft the fabric was against my face. But I don’t remember much else of my father. I get snatches of his voice every once in a while or hear his laughter in the wind. Everything else I know of my father comes from the stories I’ve heard my whole life. I can’t tell anyone who knew him this. They all look at me like I’m horrible for forgetting him. But I was so young when he died, so absorbed in growing up, that it feels like I missed out on knowing him, so therefore, I missed out on grieving him entirely.”

“I’m not sure my dad knew how much I loved him when he died. For that matter, when my mom passed away from cancer when I was sixteen, and the dumbest little shit, did she know? Did she know how much I loved her?  Did they know how much I missed them when they were gone?”

The words dry up in his throat then because tears are brimming in Tinkerbell’s eyes. Her voice is soft as she squeezes his hand back like he did hers. 

“They knew, Bradley. They knew you loved them then. I’m sure they know you love them now, as well. I’m so sure that if they had the choice to stay or go, they would have picked to stay here with you for as long as they could.”

“I know, sweetheart.” A small, disbelieving smile curls up the corners of her mouth. “But they left a family behind for me. It took me over a decade after my mom passed away to realize they did, but I’m done taking my family for granted.”

Her small giggle makes him smile, too. He ducks forward and carefully dabs the tears away.

“Basically, sweetheart, I brought that up to ask you a question.” At her nod, Bradley inhales. “Would you want to come with me? To celebrate my dad tonight?”

“His birthday is today?” There’s disbelief on her face, lips parted slightly.

“Yeah. Mav holds a get-together for everyone my parents considered family at his place every year.” Bradley’s got his heart in his throat. Would his soulmate want to meet his family this soon? Please let her say yes. He can’t think of a better way to introduce Tinkerbell to his family.

“I’d be happy to.” Her smile sets his heart alight as she stands up and helps him stand. Before Tinkerbell folds up the blanket, she wraps her arms around his waist, soaking in his warmth. His heart thuds frantically as he walks her up to the Hard Deck because it finally feels like good things are happening.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

@roosters-girl @infamous-reindeer @caitsymichelle13 @mattyskies @cosmic-psychickitty @mygyn @julesclues @greenbaby12 @bubblegumbeautyqueen @briseisgone @soulmates8 @meganlpie @captain-fandomwriter58 @caidi-paris @mazzbarnes @super-btstrash-posts @eli2447 @chaoticassidy @kmc1989 @abaker74 @marvelouslyme96 @faithiegirl01 @shanimallina87 @harrysgothicbitch @zombicupcake3 @djs8891 @bellaireland1981 @tsumudoll @desert-fern @horseshoegirl @dakotakazansky @sarahsmi13s @teacupsandtopgun @footprintsinthesxnd @roosterforme @beyondthesefourwalls @mak-32 @thedroneranger @cherrycola27

[dailyhawkmates]

˚ ༘♡ ·˚꒰ 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 ꒱ ₊˚ˑ༄

Use #hawkmatesaw2024 & #dailyhawkmates to participate!

Dear Hawkmates lovers, on May 5th, 2020, our favorite couple got their happy ending after decades of torment from DC Editorial. Four years later, we’re celebrating this most precious moment by hosting a Hawkmates Appreciation Week on @dailyhawkmates. The event will run from May 22nd to May 28th.

All participations are welcome and the content can be either gifs, edits, fanfics or fanart. There is a list of prompts for you to follow.

♡ Day 1 | May 22

↪ Your Favorite Hawkmates Pairing (Carter/Shiera, Katar/Shayera, Carter/Kendra, Carter/Shayera)

♡ Day 2 | May 23

↪ Your Favorite Past Reincarnation Pairing (Your Favorite Past Lives)

♡ Day 3 | May 24

↪ Your Favorite Hawks Comic Run

♡ Day 4 | May 25

↪ Your Favorite Hawkmates Adaptation

♡ Day 5 | May 26

↪ Your Favorite Hawkmates + Side Character(s) Dynamic

♡ Day 6 | May 27

↪ Your Favorite Hawkmates Love Confession

♡ Day 7 | May 28

↪ Free Choice

To participate, simply post your creations on your own blog and make sure to state which day & theme you’re posting for in the caption as well as tag #dailyhawkmates & #hawkmatesaw2024 if you’d like us to reblog your post here. Delayed posts will be accepted, so don’t worry if you miss a day or two. Reblogging this post is not necessary, but we’d appreciate it if you helped us spread the word!

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

[yugiohz]

i was there on the frontlines in 2020 when the dabihawks chapter dropped neglecting my finals to wait for the translations to drop every week but i hated hawks too much at that point to see any yaoi potential in that scene ghfhbjvkv. now i see that hori really wasted an excellent dynamic based on mutual distrust/hypocrisy with a half assed murder attempt i feel as tho dabi should’ve succeeded Or they should’ve frotted about it. either wouldve been acceptable (and logical) progress

#frotting

[mariacallous]

It’s Everyday, Bro feat. Donald J. Trump

In between court appearances, former president Donald Trump has been campaigning in a handful of odd places. In February he hawked his golden shoes at Sneaker Con, and now his team might be sending him to Jake Paul’s next boxing match.

Over the weekend, Paul, the influencer and professional boxer, was interviewed by Jesse Watters on Fox News. The pair discussed his upcoming fight with Mike Tyson and whether Joe Biden or Trump would come out on top in a hypothetical match. At the end of the conversation, however, Paul offered Trump a seat outside the ring.

“Trump, if you’re watching this, this is an invite. I know you used to promote Tyson, so I’d love to have you at the fight,” Paul said. “Donny, pull up, we’ve got tickets for you.”

On Monday I asked the Trump campaign whether they’d take Paul up on his offer, and a top Trump adviser told me that the campaign is “seriously considering” attending the fight. When Paul announced his match with Tyson a few weeks ago, the video received more than 4 million views on YouTube, making it his most popular video so far this year. And while the match itself will likely bring in a massive audience, Paul’s more than 60 million followers across platforms would be the real trophy for the Trump campaign.

2024 is already the year of the election influencer. I wrote about Biden’s gaggle of influencers a few weeks ago, and it’s true—influencers are catching the attention of politicians and campaigns like never before. Paul is a great example: Last fall, the boxer met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and said that he was teaching him to use TikTok. Later that year, Vivek Ramaswamy was in the crowd at one of Paul’s fights. Paul stopped short of endorsing Ramaswamy, but offered to join him on the campaign trail ahead of the Iowa caucus (though bad weather got in the way).

“When we talk about political influencers, we tend to really focus on influencers who are inherently political. However, politicians don't just benefit from those kinds of influencers,” Jo Lukito, an assistant professor focused on political communications at University of Texas at Austin, told me. “The ideal is actually to get influencers who are not super political, right? Because you're able to get an audience that you normally wouldn't have access to.”

Team Trump might also struggle to reach its usual base this year, meaning they’ll need to rely on alternatives. Earlier this week, The Atlantic reported that traffic belonging to the top 10 conservative and right-wing news sites has gone down 40 percent since the last presidential election, in 2020. It was these outlets, like Breitbart, that leveraged the internet to elect Trump in 2016. Now that machine is breaking down.

“The mainstream media is dead. They’re dead. They just haven’t realized it yet,” a former Ramaswamy staffer told me at his caucus night party in January. “If you look at the types of voters that make up the America First movement, they get their news from alternative media. Fox News is just a very small sliver.” Paul, and other creators like him, could fill this void.

Trump’s team is realizing this. Before, right-wing media and Trump’s online fanatics together generated enough buzz that he didn’t need to build these relationships himself. But as the media landscape has changed, so must the campaign. Already last year, the former president appeared on the Nelk Boys’ Full Send podcast, where he was quizzed, of all things, on Ice Spice. He also hosted a dinner for conservative influencers. The fact that the campaign is considering joining forces with Paul marks the next step in their strategy.

It’s not just presidential candidates either. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson, who’s trying not to get fired by his own party, briefed popular conservative influencers and activists on his election integrity bill. Popular social media figures including LibsofTikTok, DC Draino, and End Wokeness were all briefed and, in turn, put out messages in support of the bill.

While Johnson’s briefing was an attempt to create his own viral moment, Trump attending Paul’s fight would be him seizing an opportunity that makes sense for his brand. Trump’s involvement in the bravado of men’s fighting sports has lasted decades. More than a decade ago, he famously participated in a Wrestlemania match with Vince McMahon. Recently, Trump’s been attending more UFC fights and chumming it up with Dana White.

Not only will Paul be hyping up this summer’s fight across his social media accounts, but Netflix will also be livestreaming the match, allowing it to reach the streaming platform’s more than 260 million users. Many digital consultants say political advertising on streaming apps like Netflix will be huge this year. Unlike with a New York Times article or an Instagram post, users are often glued to a movie or show, and some services can force their audiences to watch ads, depending on their subscription tier.

“If I were a political candidate, this would be the time where I'm recognizing Jake Paul has a uniquely large audience and would want to leverage that to benefit me in some way,” Lukito told me.

This is all to say that we live in a world where Jake Paul’s endorsement carries weight in politics. Social platforms are no longer prioritizing news content—they’re fixed on the creator economy. Influencers dominate these feeds, where a majority of US voters read the news, and we should expect more YouTube-style collabs like these, at least through November. Get ready. It’s going to be every day, bro.

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

Where Have You Seen Loki Season 2's X-5 Actor Before?

This post contains spoilers for the season premiere of "Loki."

"Loki" is back this week, and along with the return of Norse trickster god Loki (Tom Hiddleston), agent Mobius (Owen Wilson), and the rest of the Time Variance Authority, the show's premiere also sees the introduction of a few new key characters. Among them? Ke Huy Quan's helpful, tech-savvy Ouroboros (or O.B.) and X-5, a mysterious new TVA agent played by Rafael Casal. And it's the latter who is particularly intriguing.

So far, we haven't seen X-5 do much besides question whether jet skis are part of the sacred timeline, but the character already seems to be an agitating force within the organization. He's also quite possibly poised to become a recognizable Marvel villain. After all, a featurette for the second season had a couple bits of footage from behind the scenes that showed him in a TVA jumpsuit, as if he was being held prisoner. So that should be interesting to watch play out. But there's more.

As /Film's Sandy Schaefer pointed out back in July, the trailer for "Loki" includes a poster for a movie called "Zaniac!" which fans have tied to Casal's character via leaks and speculation. Zaniac is a noteworthy character in Marvel Comics, though he bears little resemblance to X-5. The character was an evil entity that possessed the man who would become Jack the Ripper, and later took over slasher actor Brad Wolfe.

Ahead of the show's premiere, Casal has been credited by several outlets as Brad Wolfe, not X-5, so it seems likely that he could play out some form of the Zaniac plot this season. Regardless of Casal's true role in the show, though, he's an excellent multi-hyphenate artist whose past works deserve attention.

If X-5 looks familiar, it's likely you recognize Casal from "Blindspotting," a fantastic 2018 musical comedy-drama that he co-wrote with longtime creative partner Daveed Diggs (yes, of "Hamilton" fame). "Blindspotting" was a labor of love for Casal and Diggs, who also produced the film about two best friends living in Oakland, California whose lives are disrupted by the broken policing system. As serious as that sounds, "Blindspotting" is also laugh-out-loud funny, and Casal is a totally charming standout as hot-headed Miles.

The performer reprised the role for Starz's "Blindspotting" TV show, which ran for two seasons and was recently canceled. A criminally underseen hidden gem of a series, "Blindspotting" takes place after the film and puts the focus on Miles' girlfriend, Ashley Rose (Jasmine Cephas Jones), as she parents the pair's young mixed-race son in a racist world, all while Miles is behind bars. Despite his character's incarceration, Casal still appears in the show frequently and his hilarious, soulful character is a fan favorite. If you're looking for a thoughtful, entertaining, dynamic watch – or just want to see what Casal's made of – you can't do much better than either iteration of "Blindspotting."

The performer has also made a name for himself in other projects, including several collaborations with Diggs. A poet and rapper in addition to his acting creds, Casal appeared on three seasons of "Def Poetry Jam" on HBO, released a mixtape with Diggs in 2010, and contributed to the soundtracks for "Blindspotting," including in the catchy (and foulmouthed, fair warning) song "Easy Come, Easy Go." He reunited with Diggs in the acclaimed 2020 miniseries "The Good Lord Bird," a wild historical fiction series led by a fiery Ethan Hawke. Casal and Diggs even started a public theater project called Bars Medley, which remixed classic literature into musical performances.

Other on-screen works of Casal's include a supporting role in the 2019 Hugh Jackman flick "Bad Education" (he played the love interest of Jackman's closeted character) and a multi-episode turn in the "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" revival. Casal played a ringmaster named Mr. Tophat in the reboot of the classic, kid-friendly horror series. Next up, Casal is appearing in "Wildcat," a biography of Southern Gothic author Flannery O'Connor that's directed and co-written by Hawke. The X-5 actor plays a character in one of O'Connor's short stories in the movie, which premiered at Telluride but hasn't been released to the public yet.

Whether X-5 is a frustrated TVA employee, a secret evil entity, a movie actor, or something else entirely, it's exciting to see an artist as talented and versatile as Casal take the stage in a major Marvel series. You can catch his next moves on Disney+, where new episodes of "Loki" stream Thursdays at 9pm ET.

[defira85]

Favourite Songs Game

Tagged by @sotc to share some favourite songs I'm listening to right now, this is a bit heavily skewed by a recent concert announcement (guess who got her pre-sale tickets babyyyyyyy)

The Curse Stops Here (Live) by The Whitlams ft. Sydney Symphony Orchestra

I fell in love with The Whitlams as a wide-eyed teen in the 90s when No Aphrodisiac hit the radio, listening to the line "Tired teacher twenty-eight seeks regular meetings for masculine muscular nappy-clad brutal breeding" and realising that not all songs were just pop music. This song is from the album Truth, Beauty and a Picture of You, which is hands down one of my favourite albums ever, a live recording of The Whitlams performing at the Sydney Opera House with the symphonic orchestra as backing. Tim, the only surviving founding member of the band, wrote this as a reflection on the loss of his band mates who both died by suicide. It's always a haunting song, but with the orchestra as accompaniment I sob every time. I hate assigning any sort of fandom energy to such a personal song, but it's always privately been a Hawke/DA2 song for me as well

Here's to Us by Halestorm

I'm so attracted to Lzzy Hale. Her voice and her energy and her raw screams delight me so much, but this is one of Halestorm's less angry songs. I wanted to sing it at @thegingerjedi's wedding in 2020 when our friend group all gathered for the first time in person to celebrate her love, but Covid put a stop to that. I get to see them all in 3 weeks for the first time. I'm gonna sing it then.

If You Ever Forget that You Love Me by Isak Danielson

I'm going to keep spruiking Isak to everyone I meet, because I love him. I love him SO much. This is a Durgetash song shut up everyone

I'll also admit that I've been on a Rina Sawayama kick lately, and I love her cover of Enter Sandman from a Metallica tribute album that was put together a few years ago. The Hold the Girl album has been on repeat in our kitchen a lot recently.

Tagging @flamemittens @elinorbard @sithrightsactivist @anarchyinplasma @tiefighter and any of my usual cohort of co-conspirators, you three know who you are, if you want to play consider yourself tagged

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers West Coast #61: The IMMORTUS IMPERATIVE

August, 1990

AVENGERS West Coast vs IMMORTUS and the LEGION of the UNLIVING!

Well! A Legion of the Unliving! And an Immortus. Vs the Avengers. We've been here before. But not with this specific Legion of the Unliving. Is that Iron Man 2020? He's not even unliving yet! Way to think outside the current year, Immortus.

Anyway.

Last times on Avengers West Coast: John Byrne was building up to something with Scarlet Witch and Immortus. But he had beef with editorial so he took his ball and went home and now Roy and Dann Thomas are going to pick up the plot threads and tie them together as best as they can.

But in plot terms: Scarlet Witch has been having the worst several weeks of her life. Her husband was disassembled and rebuilt except without emotions so he fucked off to the other Avengers team. Wanda went catatonic except when she woke up to be capital E evil and then she went catatonic again.

While she was Evil, she joined up with Magneto for his vague plans and kept suggesting he murder people. But then she went catatonic while he had to fight the Avengers by himself. So he fucked off.

Immortus has been shown spying on the Avengers for Reasons and deleting divergent timelines for Reasons and after Magneto fucks off, Immortus shows up to claim everything has transpired according to his plans. Also, he's going to marry Wanda or something.

Sir. If Wanda takes up polygamy, you are not high on her list.

Honestly.

This era of Avengers has way too much Kang and Kang accessories in it.

Quicksilver (and Lockjaw via growls) tell Immortus to get his creepy self away from Wanda but Hank Pym is like dammit, let the villain monologue!

He says it's for Wanda's sake but I think he just knows we'll never know what the plot is if we don't let Immortus villainsplain at them.

Wasp: "Spoken like a true leader and founding father, Hank!"

God. Get off his dick, Wasp.

I'd hoped that her characterization being reduced to being Hank's cheerleader would go away with Byrne but forecast looks bad.

Hawkeye ignores Hank (because the Avengers West Coast don't have an official leader so Hawkeye thinks it should be him and therefore he can do what he wants) and shoots an arrow at Immortus.

Which bonks off thin air.

Wonder Man: "You know force fields are standard issue with supervillains, Hawk!"

Yeah, Clint. Are you a veteran or not?

Immortus takes issue with being called a villain and asks "do you apply such negative labels to everything you cannot understand?"

Which would hit harder if it were not Immortus and not a situation where he's mind-controlling a woman.

Hawkeye points out that Immortus has been causing trouble for the Avengers since issue #10. I mean, he's right. But how does he know that? Issue #10 got retconned.

And Wonder Man says that his own introduction in issue #9 happened a few weeks after the Immortus fight that didn't happen at all because it was retconned and as Simon describes it the issues would be in the wrong order even if it did happen and...

This way lies madness.

Despite his injured leg, Quicksilver isn't going to stand by letting Immortus talk even if Dr Pym, Wasp, and Iron Man say he should.

He tries to rush Immortus but Immortus has Time Powers.

Immortus: "You would use so pitiful a power as speed -- against one who controls time, without which speed is an inconceivable concept? I could take this single step backward -- or walk to Earth's Moon and return -- while you were merely careening into this other fool who thought to sneak up on his superior!"

So Immortus just steps out of the way of Quicksilver's charge and lets him collide with US Agent. But he describes it as TIME POWERS.

Immortus doesn't actually want to Explain It All and says he's protecting all timelines, source: trust me, bro.

But the Avengers don't trust him, bro.

Wasp tries to get Lockjaw to teleport Wanda away. But she's still in that time-space stasis field thing and that's immune to teleportation. And also, Immortus has Dog Sleepy Powers which he uses to make Lockjaw to sleep.

Supposedly.

Lockjaw continues standing around with his eyes open. So maybe Immortus doesn't know how to get the Dog Sleepy Powers to work.

The Avengers all rush Immortus, since he won't exposition at them.

Immortus sighs and decides okay fine, I'll just take you with me then. And teleports them all to Limbo.

Leaving behind a weird after image of himself in the Avengers' base.

Immortus' throne room has been redecorated to look more... organic, apparently. Immortus says that's because Limbo reflects his moods and he's been in an organic mood lately.

Sure, okay.

I'm not sure what he means because the background just looks like. Rock. Like a rocky cave that someone put a metal floor in and a throne.

Wonder Man thinks it's very impressive and says a set like this would cost the budget for three of the movies he's worked on.

Hawkeye: "Right about now, Simon, your movie career's the last thing I'm worried about!"

Hey, c'mon, Clint.

He's just describing it through his lived life experience. And reminding people that he's an actor who acts in movies.

Remember when Hawkeye showed new maturity by getting married and leading a team of his own? Remember when he and Wonder Man came to an understanding in the sauna that even though he was an actor, being a superhero was still Wonder Man's number one priority?

I can't believe I'm saying it but characterization has gone downhill since Englehart.

Whether on Earth or in Limbo, the Avengers are still ready to kick Immortus' ass. And apparently his TIME POWERS only work on Earth. Because Limbo is timeless. Except for all the passage of time that the people in it experience because duh.

But if there's anything consistent about Immortus from the non-occurring events of Avengers #10 onward it's that Immortus doesn't fight his own battles.

Immortus: "Still, I am disappointed you think me stupid enough -- to face all you overly muscular specimens alone."

And boom. As the cover promised, a new Legion of the Unliving.

Getting a bit ahead of myself but that's Toro, not the Human Torch. The villainous Black Knight. Ugh, Grim Reaper. The Swordsman. Left-Winger and Right-Winger. Iron Man 2020, who I guess is unliving in the sense that he's not even been born. Unless you count sliding timescale because the timescale slid so hard that Arno is now contemporaneous to Tony. And Oort, the Living Comet.

Despite Oort asking if they remember him, this is his first appearance.

Like Arno, Oort is implied to come from the future. Although a more recent future.

Honestly, that's a fun thing to do with Immortus. It's HARD to do, unless you have established some characters from the future like the Iron Man 2020 series. 2099 characters would be a good choice but we're a couple years from that being possible. Or you can just make up a future character like Oort, the Living Comet, and have him mention a personal history that hasn't happened yet.

My point being: despite how stupid this story is looking, I like Immortus getting creative with his Legion of the Unliving choices.

Most everyone dies at some point and Immortus has every point at his disposal so he could throw any given character into his Legion.

Actually, I'm a little sad that the MCU just has Immortus as One of the Kangs and that maybe the Kang plot will get dropped or deemphasized due to so many reasons. Because an MCU Immortus dropping a Legion of the Unliving on someone. Imagine the characters you could bring back for it.

There are so many dead characters in the MCU. So many.

The only limit is imagination and how much Disneymarvel would be willing to pay to get actors to come back and reprise.

Anyway.

Wasp tells the Avengers not to hold back just because these are dead people that they might know. As far as she's concerned, these aren't the real dudes, they're simulcra that Immortus pulled out of time and if the Avengers get too in their head about fighting dead people they might know, they'll wind up dead instead.

She's actually right.

Because Immortus kept using dead characters that actually turned out to be alive - including Wonder Man once - it's had to be retconned that sometimes Legion of the Unliving members are just Space Phantoms.

So many Space Phantoms in Immortus retcons. So many.

Anyway, this Legion of the Unliving seems to have been chosen for personal connections with the heroes. Mostly.

Wonder Man obviously squares up against Grim Reaper, his supervillain brother that keeps harassing him and trying to put him and Vision in a blender.

Iron Man 2020 fights Iron Man because he's always wanted to prove he's better than the original Iron Man, Tony Stark, his great-uncle. Despite Iron Man's protests that he's definitely not the handsome, brilliant Tony Stark.

Hawkeye fights his old mentor and frenemy Swordsman.

Swordsman claims that he taught Hawkeye everything he knows which is why he's totally going to win this fight. Kind of ignoring the fact that he's been dead for years and Hawkeye didn't just stop learning shit. It's just a dumb boast, is all.

Black Knight faces Dr Pym, his old nemesis. Hank is no longer Giant-Man but he unshrinks Rover, the airship with the brain of an ant who loves Hank, so he can have an aerial duel with his old foe.

Right-Winger and Left-Winger fight US Agent. They're dudes he fought during his time as Captain America. He kinda blew them up in to a coma. Because they were involved in his parents' deaths.

Wasp is fighting Toro (who everyone is mistaking for the robot Human Torch). ... Okay, this is the odd one out. Wasp has no connection with this dude.

You couldn't think of a dead villain that has a personal connection to Wasp? I hate to say it but... I mean. She did tell Hank to crush Vibro to paste three issues ago. Maybe she should fight Vibro.

It would kind of make that fill-in issue where the Avengers West Coast take a break from the Wanda is Evil and Crazy arc more relevant to the arc. Wasp sentenced a dude to die because he wouldn't stop earthquaking Los Angeles. And then he pops up again in the Legion of the Unliving.

Feels like it writes itself but it didn't.

Anyway. The most interesting match-up here is actually Quicksilver vs Oort, the Living Comet.

Because Oort knows Quicksilver. And Quicksilver has no idea who Oort is.

Oort: "We never did find out which of us is faster, did we, mutant?" Quicksilver: "What are you talking about, Oort -- or whatever your name is? I never even heard of you befo-- NO! Those comet bursts --- fired at Wanda -- !" Oort: "You haven't changed a bit since we met in the 50th Century, Quicksilver. Even there, you were overly protective of your sister... though she couldn't care less whether you live or die!"

It sucks nobody ever ran with this.

This story is Oort's only appearance. We may never know what the hell Pietro and apparently Wanda were doing in the 50th Century. Or why they started beefing with this Oort dude.

The Thomases introduced Oort in this story as a future foe of Quicksilver because Quicksilver doesn't have a rogues gallery to draw on and everyone (but Wasp) was getting personalized fights.

So they made a whole new guy up to give Quicksilver a personalized fight and they gave Wasp Toro.

Double standard, boo.

Meanwhile, in the Hawkeye vs Swordsman fight, Swordsman does his usual Swordsman thing. You know, slicing or batting Hawkeye's arrows out of the air.

Really showing off his visual acuity and reflexes, the jerk.

He even mocks Hawkeye's gimmick arrows as relying on a "technological care package from Tony Stark" as if Hawkeye didn't invent anti-gravity by himself and then never use it for anything.

Swordsman: "Whether it's the strength of my arm -- or the sharpness of my blade -- I shall always be the teacher, and you merely the pupil!"

Basically Swordsman talks a good game up until the point Hawkeye tricks him into trying to block a 21k volt electro-arrow with his very conductive metal sword.

Props to the story, for a dude that Hawkeye has personal history with, he comes off like he has personal history with Swordsman.

After he... yeah, he basically kills Swordsman. Twenty-one thousand volts will do that. And this is Avengers Don't Kill Hawkeye, having to re-kill his dead mentor because if Hawkeye lost, Swordsman would move onto killing the next Avenger.

Hawkeye: "You -- shouldn't have made that crack -- about what you were gonna do to the others. I knew you best, so that meant I had to be the one to stop you, at any cost. Do me a f-favor, okay? D-don't let Immortus bring you back to life again. I really don't think... I could take that...!"

It's a low bar to clear but nobody in West Coast Avengers but Wanda has had appropriate emotions for the entire Byrne run. So I'll give credit where due that Hawkeye is emotionally impacted by having to kill a dude he has conflicted feelings about.

I'm realizing that I'm liking a lot of the bits in this story. The overall story is still kinda dumb. But it's cleaning up someone else's mess so maybe this bodes well for the Thomases run on this book.

Anyway. Remember how Immortus left behind an after-image when he teleported everyone to Limbo?

Yeah, Agatha Harkness did that.

She "half-sensed" Immortus' hand behind all the shit that's been happening to Wanda and her growing powers and her hard swing into mutant superiority and also the fake made-up children who definitely didn't exist.

Agatha didn't tell anyone though because fuck you nobody tells anyone their suspicions about anything in this book until it's too late to matter. Remember all the times recently that Hank Pym suddenly claimed he knew something all along?

But since Agatha Harkness kept a low-profile, Immortus didn't think to take countermeasures against her and she was able to cast a spell that left behind an after-image of himself.

Why? Eh. Apparently she can do magic on the after-image to learn what he's up to.

Agatha Harkness: "For, as you know full well, Earth's very timelines are in danger of unraveling, like threads in a fallen skein... but I, for one, am far from certain that you are the one to knit them up again!"

That's fair. He retgonned the timeline where Lincoln kicked John Wilkes Booth's ass. What a jerk thing to do, to get rid of that.

Anyway, Agatha does a magic that will make the image of Immortus share all the hot goss about Immortus' schemes. Magic can do that. Why wouldn't it?

In the grand aerial duel of Dr Pym vs the Black Knight, Black Knight's flying horse outmaneuvers Hank Pym's technology. He uses his laser lance to blast Rover but Hank just unshrinks a hover-pack and jumps out at Black Knight.

Who panics and falls off his horse to his re-death.

Hank saves himself with his hover-pack. He realizes that Black Knight must have remembered the last time he fell to his death, while fighting Iron Man, and that's why he panicked and, ironically, caused history to repeat.

Having put this together, Hank feels lousy about helping history to repeat on Black Knight.

He supposedly repented his evil right before he died the first time and then Immortus drags his ghost out of time, or whatever, and throws him into superhero fighting again. Black Knights just got no luck.

... Huh, did Thor ever get Dane out of that time warp he left him in?

Meanwhile, US Agent gets double-teamed by Right-Winger and Left-Winger.

Then US Agent throws his less-mighty-than-Cap's shield and makes Left-Winger trip so both brothers accidentally stab each other with stalagmites.

US Agent: "Welcome back to the dead zone, boys."

It's his favorite DBZ movie.

But, wow, he sure is proud of himself for deading those two guys.

Elsewhere in this big Limbo, Iron Man vs Iron Man. Future technology vs modern technology. A dude who just bought his armor vs the dude that built it.

And Iron Man 2020 is kicking Tony's ass. There's several decades of advancements in Arno's favor, even if Tony is the better engineer.

Iron Man 2020: "Face facts, unc... You're like some primitive stealth bomber up against a star raker from my day!" Also Iron Man 2020: "Whoever you are in there, you're last century's model!"

And then Tony wins via sucker punch.

I guess decades of improvements don't mean a lot if you can't take a punch.

Shrug.

(Feels like there was a more thematically satisfying conclusion to this fight somewhere but this is a team vs team fight issue and each character can only get so much time.)

Over with Wonder Man vs Grim Reaper for the umpteenth time.

Grim Reaper is in full bigger brother bully mode, reminding Simon of when they were kids and Eric would threaten him with a stolen pocketknife.

Grim Reaper cuts Wonder Man up with his scythe (which he lampshades he wasn't able to do when he was alive) but Wonder Man grabs him by the throat and demands he stands down.

Bigger brother bully refuses and shocks Wonder Man with his scythe, Wonder Man determinedly keeps his grip on Grim Reaper's neck and-

KRAK!

Wonder Man: "My grip -- so strong -- I killed him -- broke his neck! Immortus's control over him was so strong -- he wouldn't quit fighting till he was dead again! You're going to pay for this, Immortus! So help me -- you're going to pay!"

Damn. That's dark.

Which seems to be the theme with the fights where the Avengers win their fights.

Hawkeye had to go against his Avengers Do Not Kill principle and re-kill his mentor. Hank Pym (accidentally) put the fear of death in Black Knight so hard he died of it. And Wonder Man squeezes his brother's neck so hard it breaks -- and doesn't even realize he's doing it.

Oh, and US Agent made two brothers kill each other. But he doesn't seem too broken up over it. I guess he's the combo breaker.

And the afterthought fight: Wasp vs Toro.

Who she confuses as Human Torch until he informs her otherwise.

I sincerely believe this fight happens - and Wasp gets screwed out of a personalized fight - to clear up some continuity.

When Toro reveals he's Toro, Wasp realizes that the previous time the Avengers saw the robot Human Torch in a Legion of the Unliving (under Kang) it couldn't have been Jim Hammond because androids can't die because they're not real people!

Oof.

Toro: "Kang the Conqueror once thought I was the Torch, too -- when he gathered the first Legion of the Unliving! I was a man -- so I could -- and the Mad Thinker murdered me! -- Just like Immortus is going to make me kill you -- RIGHT NOW!"

Glad we cleared that up.

And, yeah, Wasp loses her fight because she's too distracted by the Not-Human Torch thing.

This issue kept cutting back and forth between Agatha interrogating Afterimage Immortus and the Avengers vs Legion fights. I just moved most of the fight stuff together in this recap for clarity.

Because we're about to do some big retcons, Agatha Harkness asks Immortus to RECAP HIS ENTIRE BACKSTORY.

Granted, how long has it been since we learned Immortus' complicated deal?

He was born in the 30th Century in a world of peace and plenty and he hated it because it was so boring. His only solace was watching old video tapes of superheroes punching people.

Especially the Fantastic Four. He loved their exploits best because he had learned that he and Reed Richards both traced their ancestry back to Nathaniel Richards.

Little Kid Future Nathaniel Richards (Ie Immortus) found a shrine Reed's dad Nathaniel Richards left behind with a time machine. Young Immortus rebuilt the time machine to look like a Sphinx and time traveled back to Egypt to take over as White Pharaoh Rama-Tut.

Then the Fantastic Four showed up and kicked his ass and he fled Back to the Future.

He went too far, wound up in post-apocalyptic year 4000 and became Kang the Conqueror.

Later, he became ashamed of all the stupid shit he did as Kang and became Rama-Tut again and took over Egypt again (but benevolently?). Then he became Immortus and moved to Limbo.

Afterimage Immortus: "As Immortus, I was a more contemplative type than my Kang counterparts, who were dedicated only to the conquest of historical eras. Sequestering myself in the ageless dimension known as Limbo, I dedicated myself to the study of that ultimate enigma -- time itself."

Then, the Time Keepers came to Immortus in Limbo and taught him all about time and appointed him the custodian of the time stream for the period which he had lived as Kang -- 3000 BC to 4000 AD.

So Immortus became responsible for monitoring time travel during that period. Which mostly meant monitoring himselves.

And if he fulfills his vow to the Time Keepers' purpose, they'll give him total mastery over those seventy centuries.

Kind of seems a downgrade from when Immortus was Master of Time.

Agatha Harkness asks Immortus what the Time Keepers' purpose is and what the heck it has to do with Wanda or with all those divergent timelines Immortus deleted in Byrne's run.

Afterimage Immortus: "You already know the truth, old woman! The Scarlet Witch is a nexus being -- one who belongs equally to all possible timelines -- all realities and divergences -- so that, through her, all futures can be totally safeguarded -- inexorably controlled -- by Immortus, Master of Time!"

Okay. Does that mean anything for Wanda herself or does that just make her a plot device to win?

Remember when Sentinels kidnapped Wanda because they needed to her power to sterilize Earth? And not her hex power, just the fact that she was A Woman?

This shit keeps happening to Wanda.

I'm surprised she didn't go evil and crazy sooner.

Speeeeaking of whiiiiich.

This is where (Afterimage) Immortus explains how he's been behind everything.

EVERY. THING.

Going back to his first appearance in Avengers #10 which was retconned and didn't happen so I don't know what he's talking about.

But, hypothetically, his evil plan in that story that didn't happen was to break up the Avengers so Scarlet Witch could never join them. Without the Avengers as a support network, Immortus could have manipulated Wanda so much more easily.

And why did Immortus show Vision an origin where he was built from the body of the original robot Human Torch? TWAS A RUSE! He wanted Vision and Wanda to marry and only knowing his origins would make Vision comfortable enough in his life to marry!

(The retconned origin that Vision was made out of extra Human Torch parts is close enough that one wonders why Immortus didn't just show him that? This is stupid. God I hate sweeping retcons like this.)

Why did Immortus want Wanda and Vision to marry? Is he just a big ol' shipper actually?

NO!

WANDA MARRYING VISION WAS ACTUALLY A SLOW BURN PLAN TO MANIPULATE WANDA! IMMORTUS PLANNED IT ALLLL!

Immortus knew that Wanda would want children and that she would specifically use her mutant magic to magic them up instead of adoption or surrogacy! He knew it all along!

And having created fake, not-real children, he knew that one day, she would learn they weren't real!

Afterimage Immortus: "Over time, Agatha Harkness, I slyly seduced the Vision into attempting to dominate the Earth by taking over its computers. After he tried that, it was easy to subliminally influence a multi-national security alliance to take him apart-- in such a way that, although his android body could later be more or less reassembled -- the Vision's particular mind and memory -- and thus his love for the Scarlet Witch -- became part of a dead and unrecapturable past! Soon afterward, even while I was subtly increasing her hex power, I made certain she was one of seven brides-to-be of Set, to further undermine her confidence -- by making her fear she was doomed, always, to be a victim of circumstances beyond her control. Perhaps she was, at that. Witness her quite coincidental capture later by the human servants of the micro-organism known as 'That Which Endures'... Although Master Pandemonium, whose kidnapping of her 'twins' caused her pain and terror, was unknowingly obeying my secret suggestions. And when her 'offspring' finally vanished forever -- you, dear lady, did me the service of explaining to her how they never truly existed! This was the final straw that turned her into a hard-hearted human-hater -- and thus perfect for my purposes. Magneto's blundering along just then was an annoying, but quite temporary, nuisance -- one which scarcely delayed the implementation of my plan!"

God this is so much. I hate it also so much.

Saying someone secretly conspired to organize so many events is a hard sell. And roping in Master Pandemonium seems unlikely since Immortus couldn't see into the netherworld where he took Wanda.

Saying Immortus nudged Vision into his takeover the world plan diminishes the original story.

And the writer drawing the line at Immortus being responsible for the That Which Endures story is just kind of funny. It's brought up solely so Immortus can say "that wasn't me" even though it seems like the racism goo turning Wanda into a mutant supremacist would only serve his plan.

There's so much to like about this issue and then there's the big reveals, which are unfathomably stupid.

Sheesh.

With all this exposition, Agatha Harkness has finally pieced together what Immortus' plan for Scarlet Witch is.

Although, she doesn't share it with the class. No doubt wanting to keep up the tension for next issue.

(Also, Immortus sends the Legion of the Unliving back into the void, sparing Quicksilver and Wasp from being finished off by their opponents.)

Next week, switching back over to Avengers East Coast for more airport paperback political thriller action in the Crossing Line arc. And in two weeks, the Immortus slash Wanda is Evil and Crazy arc wraps so the Thomases can start their own plots.

I will not be sad to see Byrne's lingering plot threads go.

Follow @essential-avengers. I'm too tired for a more extravagant pitch. Like and reblog, maybe?

[seedlessmuffins]

hello party people! the stanley cup playoffs start right now, so in an attempt to tempt y’all to watch, i have compiled a list of playoff moments that altered my brain chemistry (as someone who has watched the playoffs every year since 2010)! even if you don’t want to watch hockey, the sport is pretty ridiculous so here is just a small sample of the extent of the craziness!

washington capitals vs. pittsburgh penguins 2009 (round 2 game 2): hockey’s messi and ronaldo, sidney crosby and alex ovechkin put on a show for the washington crowd as they each score hattys in the same game. the capitals would go on to win the game, but the penguins would win the series (and later the cup), but this game has some of the best highlights as the two best players in hockey at their peaks showed off their skills for sexy, sexy hockey! 

chicago blackhawks vs. philadelphia flyers 2010 (round 4 game 6): in overtime of game 6 of the stanley cup finals, a chicago player scored the game winner to win the hawks the cup. the weird part? nobody saw it go in except the player and his teammates. the crowd, flyers, and broadcasters didn’t see it go in. known as the “phantom goal” this goal won the hawks their first cup in almost 50 years.

 vancouver canucks vs. chicago blackhawks 2011 (round 1 game 7): this is the game that made me fall in love with hockey. little 7-year-old me was glued to my television screen all night watching this game. the blackhawks and canucks had matched up in the playoffs for three years in a row, and the blackhawks (at the time the reigning cup champions) had beat the canucks every time. this series had gone the full 7 games, with the canucks winning the first 3 and the blackhawks coming from behind to win the next 3. earlier in game 7, hero alex burrows had opened the scoring then missed a penalty shot. with the game tied at 1, just over 5 minutes into overtime, burrows gets the puck and scores, defeating the blackhawks to send the canucks to the next round. they would go on to lose the cup in the final, but this was the golden generation of canucks games and the vibe in vancouver? unmatched. it gave birth to two of the most iconic radio calls: “they slayed the dragon” by john shorthouse, and “its a wonderful day for an exorcism” from jim hughston. this defined my childhood fr

boston bruins vs. toronto maple leafs 2013 (round 1 game 7): mere weeks after the tragedy at the boston marathon, the bruins were down 4-1 with just over 14 minutes to play in the 3rd period. they were down 4-2 with 9 minutes left. with two goals in 30 seconds, with less than 90 seconds remaining, the bruins tied the game and patrice bergeron won the game for the bruins in overtime. the maple leafs, having blown a 3 goal lead, ended their season. as of right now, they have not won a round of the playoffs since 2004.

tampa bay lightning vs. boston bruins 2018 (round 2 game 4): the playoffs can get quite scrappy! in order to get an advantage over his opponent after a little scrum, noted league rat brad marchand licked a man. yes fully licked. previously in the playoffs he had kissed and licked another man, and this caused the league to outlaw licking. the bruins would go on to lose the series, even though marchand continued his ridiculous antics

vegas golden knights vs. vancouver canucks 2020 (round 2 games 5-7): in 2020, the playoffs were played in a bubble at one arena with no spectators. after game 4, that the knights won, it was discovered that the canucks goalie jacob markstrom had an injury. with the knights leading the series 3-1, the canucks needed to win 3 games in a row to move on to the next round. enter thatcher demko, a rookie goalie who had never played a playoff game before. over games 5, 6 and 7, demko made 123 saves, including a 48 save shutout in game 6, to keep the canucks in until game 7. he stood on his head, he was incredible, and he went over 100 minutes without the knights scoring a goal. unfortunately, with a knights shutout in game 7, the canucks wouldn’t move on, but “bubble demko” would live in infamy as thatcher demko’s intro to playoff hockey. hes my favourite goalie 

pittsburgh penguins vs. new york rangers 2022 (round 1 game 1): as both teams were ready to fight it out in the playoffs, this game was tied at the end of three periods. in the playoffs, overtime lasts 20 minutes with 15 minute breaks between them. in the 3rd period of overtime, and the 6th period of hockey evgeni malkin scored for the penguins after over 90 minutes of hockey. it was midnight at madison square garden. the rangers goalie, igor shesterkin, made 79 saves in the loss, and the penguins goalie louis domingue, who came on in the second overtime to replace an injured casey desmith, went viral for reports that he ate spicy pork and broccoli between periods to keep up his energy. this is one of the longest games in nhl history, and the rangers would go on to win the series in 7 games. 

edmonton oilers vs. calgary flames 2022 (round 2 game 1): the battle of alberta is one of the classic rivalries of the nhl, and the first game of last year’s round 2 delivered. the goalies seemed to be unable to keep the puck out of the net, and flames and oilers fans both watched as the two teams combined for 15 goals, with the flames winning 9-6. the oilers would go on to win the series, but the sloppy, goal-heavy hockey has stuck in my mind ever since last may

these are some of my highlights! i hope you all enjoy the playoffs (because i know i will), and all the beard-growing and towel-twirling that comes along with them. happy stanley cup season everyone!