#hot scientist and their science experiments gone wrong partners

[nbsidestep]

really funny to me that the poly options in fh are all just. ortega's also there.

here's how argentmortumstep can win

[woniepop]

girly girls

Pairing: Kang Taehyun x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.3K

Warnings: bullying, cursing

Genre: slice of life; fluff; angst

Summary: Three times a popular girl and a nerd were enemies, and one time where they weren’t

a/n: this fic was inspired by my all time favorite movie, Legally Blonde. I enjoyed writing this fic and I really hope you enjoy reading it :)

Y/N L/N has never been someone who liked to be cast in the shadows. Always being the center of attention, y/n has become one of the, if not the most, popular girls in her town. Homegirl is always dressed like an icon even when doing mundane tasks. Girls like her have never really been into anything “nerdy.” She associates herself with more of the bimbo kind, if you will. It was never really a secret, but she studies incredibly hard to get the chance to go to her dream school and become a great computer scientist. Being in such a large friend group of female fashion icons, there was never really anyone who wanted to talk about topics with math or computer science. 

Kang Taehyun, however, is this awkward and incredibly smart boy. Never really associated with popularity, he’s only had about four friends in his life and absolutely no dating experience. He’d always been one to shy away from attention. At most times, he found himself quietly observing others. All this, and he’s still what you would consider the teacher’s pet. He gets all his assignments done, A’s on every test, and raises his hand for every question. As a computer science enthusiast, he has worked his butt off his entire life, filling his schedule with robotics clubs, different languages of code, and coding camps. Senior year was his year. He had finally got into his dream school, TXT Tech, and had already created a very very detailed plan for the future.

Currently, Y/n’s mother was constantly trying to persuade her about fashion school. Having an incredibly fashionable mom wasn’t always the best for situations like these. TXT Tech results were coming out, and even though Y/n was confident she was getting in, there’s still the chance she might have not. Nervously waiting in front of her laptop, she sits impatiently refreshing the page for her results. Within one sentence she hops up from her chair in awe. Obviously attending the school was going to be a big turning point for her, and she was so excited to have been admitted to TXT Tech. 

As Y/n got settled on campus, she finds no one else that looks like her. Obviously, because she stands out, all attention is drawn to her. She’s confident, stylish, and hot. In a sea of gray and tan business outfits, Y/n wears a nice pink pantsuit. She’s relishing in all the attention, not seeming to mind that it’s not good, because she knew she looked good. 

Her first encounter with Taehyun couldn’t have gone worse. Walking to her class, pink drink in hand, she struts confidently to the lecture hall for her computer engineering class. Not paying attention to where she was going, she bumps into a tall figure. This clearly wasn’t the best way you could go about your first day, but all Y/n could do was apologize. 

“I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t see where I was going and-” she rambled. Pausing in the middle of looking up, a very handsome and slightly awkward boy stands there, obviously pissed off and very annoyed. He scoffs and continues on his way to his next class.

Her second encounter with Taehyun was not great either. Clicking her high heels against the floor, she walks to her first class of the day. She had to get there early, she always had to sit in the front of the class. Taehyun on the other hand, nose buried deep in his book, walks directly to the middle. Despite loving programming, he could only handle so much attention. The class had started off well for Y/n, reviewing the class syllabus of “Principles of Programming Languages.” Taehyun, however, was pissed. He had not been called on once and was so frustrated. 

“Y/n, can you tell me the five most commonly used languages of code?” the professor asks smugly. Y/n knew what he was doing. She was being set up. She knew he thought she didn’t know and that lit a fire in her. 

“Python, Java, Javascript, C#, and C” she answers confidently. Hearing this, the professor nods his head. He wasn’t expecting that. 

Taehyun saw this as a perfect opportunity. His hand shoots up and he comments, “Sir, that’s actually incorrect. C++ is actually more popular because although C  has served as the foundation for writing languages like Python and Ruby, C++ is a newer language of code and therefore is compatible with more technology.” Taehyun confidently looks down to wear Y/n sits and smirks. Of course she wouldn’t know that. She’s only the popular rich girl that got in with Daddy’s money. She didn’t actually know anything, right?

It had been a few months since school had started, and finals were just about to come around. For this class’ final, they had to submit a partner project and code a simple game. At this point, it had been very blatantly established that Y/n and Taehyun were enemies. They despised each other. Always competing with each other in class, snickering when the other person got annoyed. It was a silent war between the two of them and everyone could feel the tension in the air. Obviously, it was no surprise they always came up at the top of the class, interchanging the first spot every test. What was surprising, however, was seeing their names together on the partner project roster. 

Taehyun was furious. College was supposed to be his bitch, but now he’s acting like Y/n’s bitch. He was so pissed off. Computer science was supposed to be where he had the upper hand. The one place he could feel himself. Where he was finally better than the stupid popular kids. And yet, he’s here, competing with one of them. It wasn’t fair. She was a girly girl, she wore bright colors everyday, she even had a sparkly notebook. How was she so smart? There was no way, it’s just the laws of the universe. You had to choose between looks and intelligence. That’s just what the gods above said. There’s no take backsies. 

It’s no secret that Y/n is a fashionable girl and having a female centric hobby isn’t really something applauded at this university. Knowing of Y/n’s insecurities, let’s talk about Taehyun’s. Having always worn non adventurous, boring, clothing, he’s known from the very beginning that Y/n’s beauty has helped her in life. Life is never fair, and it shows. Taehyun never ever got those advantages, and now here he is competing with someone just as smart as him. 

 As his jealousy grows in the back of his mind, he decides to use this time to take revenge. The next few days are spent typing away in the library, collaborating and researching for hours upon hours. Knowing that this project was worth 40% of their grade, they spent all their time trying to make this game perfect. 

The day of the presentation of their near perfect game rolls around and Y/n was confident. She had spent countless nights coding this with Taehyun and on her own. Starting the presentation off, Taehyun pulls up a game completely different to the one Y/n coded with him. “In this day and age, gaming has become a hobby more popular than it’s ever been. With platforms like twitch and youtube, all different types of games can catch the eyes of a wide audience. With this in mind, I’d like to present to you Jackbox Party Pack 8. Roleplay games have become the genre of choice for many gamers to play, and viewers to watch.” 

This was not the first person shooter Y/n had coded with him. What was he doing? Y/n stood there, not really knowing what to say. Opening and closing her mouth, she couldn’t form any words. She should have known this was a set up. “Ms. L/n, please continue.” The professor says. She couldn’t. She felt like she was frozen. She was so embarrassed and she should’ve seen it coming. With cheeks welling up in her eyes, she runs out of the classroom. 

With a smirk, Taehyun continued on, explaining how the game worked and how he had coded it. He had spent the past few nights coding it by himself and he was incredibly proud. Paying no mind to Y/n, he stood tall and smiled throughout his entire presentation. Obviously, like any normal person, guilt started growing quickly in the back of his mind. He finally realized he had fucked up. 

Running after Y/n, Taehyun felt incredibly guilty. He had taken the competition too far, and now he’d made someone innocent fail a required class. After running for what felt like hours, he found Y/n crying under a tree. He knelt down and offered her some tissues. Aggravated, she smacks the tissues away and tells him to leave.

Y/n, on the other hand, felt so angry. How could he do this to her? She hadn’t done anything wrong, and if he didn’t like the way she dressed or the way she conducted herself that was fine. All she needed was her to believe in herself and that got her into TXT Tech. While thinking about all the ways she could end Taehyun, she feels arms wrap around her. They’re 🤮Taehyun’s. Before she can rip his arms off, he speaks up. 

“Look Y/n, I’m really sorry about that whole thing I pulled back there. I’ll talk to the professor and give him the real project. I really took it too far and I’ll do anything to make it up to you.” He begs. 

“Um,, no? I don’t care? That was literally so embarrassing. If you really wanted to make it up to me you’d leave me alone.” Y/n pushes him off her harshly and storms off. How dare he? It probably took his two seconds to come up with that half assed apology. This was unbelievable. 

Y/n started trudging through the grass back to her dorm. All she wanted to do was take a warm shower and cry in her bed. She hated everyone. She wanted him to suffer just as much as she did, but she couldn’t do that. 

After two whole days of sobbing in her bed, she decided she was craving her signature pink drink. She really didn’t feel like going out, but delivering one drink would cost like $15. Y/n throws on a casual pink outfit. It’s very different from what she wore at the beginning of the school year, but the one thing that never changed was the color pink. Even in her depressive mood, she still wanted to dress up. She felt most comfortable wearing stylish clothing, that was her home. 

Stepping into the store, she sees Taehyun sitting at a table alone. You know when you see old people sitting along and you feel so bad for them you start tearing up? Like what if they lost their spouse or something :(((((. So anyway, Taehyun gives her lonely old people energy and regardless of what he did to her, she decides to keep him company. 

“Hey, um, can i sit here?” Y/n asks. Taehyun was so surprised. She wanted to sit with him? But he was so mean to her? He nodded his head and sat quietly. The past two days she could tell Taehyun had done a lot of thinking. She could tell he did it because he felt threatened. That wasn’t enough to forgive him, but at least she was being nice about it. 

Taehyun gets up and leaves. He comes back with a pink drink in hand, maybe as an apology. “I really want to apologize to you again, Y/n. Yesterday I don’t know if you saw, but the professor graded the actual project instead, and I had told him everything and that I’d deserve it if he failed me instead.” Y/n wanted to be happy but she wasn’t. She didn’t want him to fail after helping her code the game with her. Maybe she was so nice to him because she had matured, or maybe because she felt something different in Taehyun. Even so, a little embarrassment, she thought, wasn’t enough to cause a person to fail their whole class. Holding his hand on the table, she nods, a silent way she decided to forgive him. 

“Well, at least we’re not the worst team. I think group 7 coded a Niki Minaj roblox world.” Taehyun jokes. 

She laughs. “That’s so funny, what the heck? I guess we just have some hardcore barbs in this class.” People like Taehyun and people like Y/n were never meant to be friends in the first place, but maybe now they were starting to. Y/n, who was always challenging the term “girly girl.” Who always stressed that you have to believe in yourself when the rest of the world is against you. Y/n who became successful, without changing who she was. Y/n, who was feminine and wanted to show that was never a weakness. And Taehyun, who was always unadventurous. Who was never into fashion but still managed to pull off his nerdy outfits with his cute face. The passionate Taehyun whose only hobby seemed like studying. Gossiping for hours at the cafe, they realized this. They were starting to become friends. No one ever expected them to even be able to hold a friendly conversation, but here Y/n was, challenging everyone again. 

[fandom-necromancer]

022. ‘If you want to talk about it then say so. Don’t lie and pretend to be fine when you clearly aren’t.’

This was prompted by an awesome anon! Just to be clear, I am not trans myself and I can’t possibly know what you are going through. This is written based on research and what trans people shared online, so if anything I wrote here is wrong or offending, please tell me!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 (Warning: trans character written by a non-trans person, body/gender disphoria, accidental misgendering (that is corrected), person misunderstanding body disphoria as mysogyny, dealing with past trauma, mentioned suicide attempt of minor character)

[part2]

‘Ya goddamn lunatic, we didn’t sign up for this shit, this is dangerous!’ Gavin would have chosen some other words, but other than Hank, Connor and Nines, he was phcking coughing around a gag he had gotten for some of these carefully chosen words. They were kicked into a chamber together that was promptly closed and even a strong punch from either RK couldn’t make the frame budge. How they had gotten themselves was easy: A damn rookie mistake from Detroit’s best. They had acted on a hunch and had suffered the consequences as they ended up being kidnapped by someone who considered himself the next big brain in science. Well, maybe the idiot was, Gavin wouldn’t know, maybe this machine would work and revolutionise society. But even if what their kidnapper told them was right, they hadn’t signed up for being the damn lab rats to go through it!

It had been so close, too. The room they had been held captive in the last few days had kept them isolated, but as soon as they were outside the androids could send a distress call. Unfortunately, the police roughly took thirteen minutes to respond to high priority calls and an average of thirty-three to second priority calls. So somewhere in between they could be rescued. The small house the lunatic used for these science experiments was traversable in less than two. And there was only so much resistance you could put up before landing in a phcking chamber that would phck your complete life over.

Seven minutes in, the chamber was powered up and it felt like being burned for the few seconds it lasted. Gavin and Hank screamed as every cell of their body was changed. Connor and Nines felt it too, but it didn’t hurt for them, it was more of a dull throb as their hull-pieces changed form and biocomponents changed functions. The more terrifying it was for them to watch their humans as they had the spare processing power to realise what was happening. As Hank and Gavin fell to the floor once the chamber had powered down their android’s managed to catch them. ‘Gavin! Hey, Gavin, say something!’, Nines demanded, hearing his brother do the same. Only as Gavin opened his eyes and locked them with his looking exhausted, Nines allowed his stress levels to settle a bit.

It was nine and a half minutes in, that there was noise outside. Nines rested Gavin against the wall before reassuring his human he would be back soon. Then he stood up and walked to the small window on the door. From there he could see the scientist still triumphantly grinning, telling members of Allen’s SWAT team he was victorious and that it worked, before lifting the pistol he had threatened them with to his head and pulling the trigger. Nines stared in shock as the body sunk to the floor and SWAT surrounded the man. Nines knocked at the chamber again to draw attention and an officer quickly figured out how to open the door via the terminal the scientist had stood behind before.

‘You got to be kidding me’, Sixty cursed shocked, while the rest of the team that wasn’t busy getting the scientist to the waiting ambulance stared with open mouths. Even Allen didn’t know what to say, as four women stepped out of the chamber.

-

Nines studied his human closely over the desk. There were a few changes that were difficult to overlook. His shoulders were a bit narrower now, his hips slightly wider and a change in posture due to the added weight in the front. What did he himself looked like? Most likely similar to Connor, if his brother’s change was anything to go by. ‘Would you quit staring for phck’s sake!’, Gavin hissed louder than he would like. ‘Everyone else does so already, don’t need your phcking judgement too!’ ‘I’m sorry’, Nines mumbled. ‘I wasn’t judging you.’ ‘Yeah sure you wasn’t.’ ‘Are you alright?’, Nines asked concerned. He knew this would be even harder for his partner than for the rest of them, but he had hoped to keep those words unspoken until they were home in private. ‘I’m fine!’, Gavin hearusfordern. ‘I’m better than ever!’ ‘Gavin.’ ‘No, don’t you Gavin me! Mind your own business!’ ‘If you want to talk about it then say so’, Nines whispered gently. ‘Don’t lie and pretend to be fine when you clearly aren’t. I’m here for you.’ But his human wasn’t having any of it. ‘we have work to do, Toaster!’

He sighed, hoping to get to talk with his husband once they were home. The fact that Gavin went straight to the bathroom and stayed there for a while was enough for Nines to know chances would be slim. He walked over to knock on the door, when Gavin came storming out and made a beeline for the kitchen. Nines sighed and entered the now empty bathroom to figure out a few things about his own body too.

Gavin knew the android would plan to talk with him about everything, he also knew that he needed it dearly. But he didn’t want to. So, he had locked himself inside the bathroom and refused to look in the mirror. As Nines had come to check on him he darted for the kitchen. He needed something. Who knew what he needed, but he had to busy his hands. What had helped him in his youth? He tried to remember what he had done when people kept bothering him, kept staring and staring and… His hands flew to the cupboard, then to the fridge. Hot chocolate was the only thing he would be able to easily make and he knew coffee would only make it worse. But something sweet enough to keep the bile at bay and something warm and comforting? Maybe he would at least calm down enough to actually use his brain again and talk to the one goddamn person he had ever really opened up to. The damn person that was stuck in the same situation. Well, not the same, but…

The microwave plinged him from his thoughts and he took the cup that was burning hot. ‘Shit!’, he cursed and hated how his voice had changed. It sounded higher. Maybe that was only his imagination, but that was enough to send him to the edge again. He gulped down the first mouthful of the sweet drink that was way too hot and burned enough to push tears to his eyes. Of course, that was the moment the toaster decided to come out of the bathroom and look at him. Phck. Gavin stormed towards the bedroom, leaving his cup behind and slamming the door. He needed to be alone, he needed to forget everything and just phcking let it all out.

It near physically hurt Nines to see Gavin avoid him and struggle with this alone, but he let him. The man wasn’t ready yet to accept help. Also, Nines didn’t know he could provide it. He wasn’t there when Gavin had gone through it the first time, he didn’t know what he needed. He looked at the cup of hot chocolate and took it into his hands. He would give him some more time. As it was at a drinkable temperature, he made his way over to the bedroom. He gently knocked at the door before entering, deliberately avoiding looking at the man that was lying on his front. ‘Don’t even try to phcking talk to me, alright?’, he threatened quietly, tired. Nines nodded, putting the cup on his bedside table and sitting on the edge of the bed. He waited for any other reaction and got it, when Gavin sat up groaning and took the cup, scooting closer. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll go to sleep now, okay?’ Nines nodded, taking refuge in the others weight against his side. Gavin still trusted him. That was all he needed to know for now. There would come the time to talk.

-

The next morning unfortunately, everything had changed again. ‘Where the phck is the goddamn mirror, tin-can?!’ Nines flinched in the kitchen while making breakfast. He looked over to where Gavin was standing in the doorframe. ‘I put it away’, he admitted. ‘Hey, toaster, if this is some kind of sympathy trip, then-‘ ‘It’s not!’, Nines was quickly defending himself, hoping to diffuse the situation. ‘I didn’t want to see me like this yesterday. I should have put it back up. You can of course take it if you are fine with it. I just didn’t want it.’ ‘If I’m fine?’ The android immediately knew he had said the wrong thing. ‘Nines, you don’t believe how not-fine I am with this. I am a woman again for phcks sake! Do you know how much effort I put into passing as a man? All that for nothing. I’m a phcking woman again!’ ‘Gavin, please, I-’ ‘No, I don’t want to hear it. Don’t come at me with the trapped in the wrong body bullshit. I’m fine with my body. I’m not fine with how people stare at me. How there is the need to know what I have between my legs. How they decide my pronouns for me instead of just asking. So, don’t you even try telling me how everything is good or will be good again, because right now, it just isn’t!’ Nines took a deep breath. ‘Gavin, I wasn’t going to say any of that. It is not for me to voice these thoughts even if I had them.’ ‘Good!’, the human near shouted. ‘Good.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Let’s get the phck to work then, this shit is only temporarily until we get this machine to work again and time flies when I’m knees deep in a murder investigation. Get a phcking move on!’

-

‘Hey, do you know where Reed is?’ ‘Hmm? Right there, why do you ask?’ ‘Oh, the new girl?’ ‘Hey, don’t say that! Didn’t you hear? He got caught up in some crazy shit, they are all turned. Nines, Connor, Hank…’ ‘Oh shit, my bad. Did they say something about how they want to be addressed?’ ‘Dunno, man.’

‘Hey, Gavin, do you have the SWAT report somewhere?’, Nines asked maybe a tick to loud to tune out their co-worker’s conversation. He didn’t know whether his partner could hear them, but he wanted to make sure none of that reached his ears. ‘Hmm? Yeah, has to be somewhere… Here you go.’ ‘Thanks.’ That was that navigated around, Nines thought, but his mood plummeted as he saw Hank and Connor walking over, a big smile on their faces.

‘And, how are you two faring?’, Hank asked, planting himself on Gavin’s table. The man just scrunched up his face in disgust. It made the Lieutenant laugh. Gavin tensed even more what made Nines take over quickly. ‘Well, how are you? I can’t believe you are taking it too well.’ Connor shrugged. ‘Well, gender has always been a bit weird for androids, hasn’t it? I don’t really mind it once you accommodated to it. I liked my old body better but I could live with it, should it be irreversible.’ ‘Well, I can’t’, Gavin spat at the other android. ‘What? Jeez, Gav, it’s 2039…’ Hank said, elbowing the man. ‘Or aren’t you not only anti-android but a fucking misogynist too?’ ‘I’m not-‘ Gavin gasped for air at it, but Nines was standing already. ‘Hank. Say another word and I will forcefully remove you from that table.’ ‘Alright, alright, fine. Just wanted to ask how it was going along.’ ‘Tech’s still working on figuring out how to make the chamber work. The scientist survived, but I don’t think he will ever be in the condition to explain anything higher than basic multiplication.’ ‘Shit. And any progress?’ ‘Turned a few mice to slush, don’t really want to call it progress yet’, Gavin mumbled. ‘Shit. Well, keep me updated. Me an’ Connor will head out for a new case.’ ‘Have fun.’

-

‘Phck Hank, seriously! Right when I thought the guy grew on me he says something like that.’ ‘I’m sure he meant it as a joke’, Nines tried to console Gavin walking up and down their living room. ‘Well, then it wasn’t funny at all.’ ‘I have to agree’, Nines sighed. Gavin flopped down next to him. ‘Phck, I really hope they get the damn thing working again’, Gavin breathed. ‘And I’m sorry I yelled at you so much, this all is just… It’s too much all over again.’ ‘I understand you’, Nines muttered. ‘I… err…’ ‘What?’ ‘Can I touch you? Or does it make things worse?’ ‘I don’t know’, Gavin answered on all honesty. ‘Can I try?’ ‘Yes, please.’

Nines leaned closer and laid his arms around the man. If he was being honest it wasn’t solely to comfort Gavin but also himself. This really wasn’t what he wanted. He felt uncomfortable as well, but with his feelings he only managed to catch a glimpse of what Gavin had to go through his entire youth and now again. ‘You are what you say you are’, he whispered into his ear. ‘I love you. I don’t know how to make this any better, but we will get through this together, okay? I’m sure they will figure things out soon.’ ‘Thank you. I know. It’s just… I feel extremely anxious about it. Well, it feels like anxiety, I’m more than just anxious about it. You know what I’ve been through before, you saw all of me already. You saw the-‘ ‘I saw you’, Nines confirmed. ‘But I still see you now. You are not only your body Gavin. To me your appearance only matters because it matters to you. And we will change it back I promise. You can trust me.’ Gavin relaxed in his arms and Nines held him. It felt good to have Gavin confiding in him again. They spent most of the evening like that, cuddled together, comforting each other. Nines had made him his hot chocolate again and as it became dark outside, they had relocated to their bedroom, staying connected all the time. Holding a hand, brushing against a hip. Gavin had become sleepy in his embrace and Nines was breathing slow against his neck. Although both were tired, sleep didn’t come easy and they stayed awake far beyond their normal time, together and still alone with their thoughts.

Until at four o’clock Nines huffed out a small laugh and pressed Gavin close. ‘What happened?’, Gavin asked confused, slurring the words. ‘Gavin? I just got a message from Connor. The mice survived.’ Immediately Gavin was awake. ‘What means?’ He turned around looking at Nines full of hope. The android smiled and kissed Gavin’s forehead. ‘That means it’s time for the lab rats to try it. Come on, get dressed!’

[>next part]

[notice-me-senpai-hell]

Yo, for that ship thing, could you,,,, totally do hinata and izumi,,,, please

 For Hinata and Izumi story, I have to say it’s a ship that I hadn’t seen much about. I really enjoy writing this. And luckily, this ship will get more fan art and writings under its name soon.  (For those on the mobile app, the read more link may be invisible, so it’s better to read on a computer really. Hopefully it’s issue will be solved later on.)

        Basic Chemistry Steps 

 The 5th class of the day and it was Chemistry. Not only was it the study of substances of which matter is composed of, but the one of love. Or just the study which stomachaches grow butterflies and the classic burning red cheeks. The dangers of how it could turn your brain to mush and destroy how you see things all together.

  “-So after you done with the assignment and written your report. You are free to try other projects in your textbooks.” Mr. E. instructed. His mustache moving sideways, up and down and the classic twitch at times. A random twitch he did when he felt something on his face or was just plain mad. Or that’s what it looked like. Nobody really knew. Nor asked about it.

 He was really hard to read at times. 

  “I will be back. I must go out and check on the current state of the science festival,as I’m gone Reiko-“ 

     "Reiji.” He quickly got corrected on as the young orange haired scientist sat at the teacher’s desk. Measuring different powders in small plastic cups for the next class to come and test with the assignment the whole school was doing. 

    ”-Reiji’’, Mr. E. paused. Almost as if he was mentally cursed himself for getting the name of his new TA wrong, “-Will be here watch over you.“ He went on, dusting the white board chalk off his hands as he went out of the lab. Or went to a run on the teacher lounge, for another cup of coffee. Finally understanding the pain Kyouya-sensei goes through to teach some of the kids. 

      It was a bit of a loud group. Too loud for E’s taste, really. 

       “I guess you all know what to do,” Reiji spoke out, breaking the weird wall of silence that was form when Mr. E’s footsteps stopped echoing in the hall. Once he said that the loud and rowdy class started on the task in hand.  

All but a blond little nerd, who had his head in the textbook they were given. His eyes weirdly weren’t on the words that were printed on the page, but something else that he thought was finer than the fine print on the wall with all the science lab rules. 

          “Always read through the steps, before doing the experiment.”

          “Never add too much.”

          “Always wear gloves.”

          “Don’t leave the flame on.”

  Rules that everyone knew shouldn’t be broken, having them tattooed on their mind since the moment they came to the lab. 

 “Izumi?” A soft voice asked. Knocking out him out of the dream he seem to be in for a while. Blushing as he noticed that he was caught staring at his partner.

 ‘’You okay?” Hinata asked, taking the googles he had over his eyes. Moving them up to the top of his head. Giving Izumi a better view of his blue ocean eyes. Making him want to gush over them.  Already having millions and millions of adjectives in his head he could use to describe them.  

  ‘’Y-yeah,” Izumi awkwardly answered. His face turning to a weird smile, trying his best not to give the wrong ideas about himself. Hoping that Hinata wouldn’t think he was weird or too shy for his own good.

 Which Hinata didn’t get, he knew Izumi long enough by being in his class to know at times he would turn red out of nowhere. Especially when he would talk to him about the assignment they were told to do. Or ask if he could borrow his notes from the last math lesson. 

    Some found it odd Izumi was like this, but Hinata thought of it as him being...Cute. In his strange little way. 

 “Cool. So I guess we should start.” He cheered, lowing the safely googles back down to bridge of his nose. 

   For the rest of the class, Izumi had nearly burned himself with the hot beaker. Breaking rule three, ‘Always wear gloves.’ He got so flustered and forgot to read more about what they were doing and nearly costed Hinata’s hand when he accidentally poured the whole cup of the white powder they were given. At first going from a some couple of grams to the whole thing. Breaking Rule 1 and 2. ‘Always read through the steps, before doing the experiment.’ and  ‘Never add too much.’ Yet at the end with all the mistakes, they manage to finished first. Or before the bell rang.

      Izumi wrote the last few words on the report as Hinata cleaned up the lab. Hinata tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, when Izumi tapped his pen on the desk. Catching the attention of the Tea Ceremony Club Leader, who was wiping down the glassware at the sink. 

 “S-sorry, about everything.” 

  “What?” Hinata replied. Pumping the handle on the paper towel dispenser one last time. Ripping the towel off and folding it on to his damp hands. Drying them off. “What are you implying?” He added. Walking to their shared desk.

  Izumi brushed his bangs out of his face before he finally faced Hinata. 

    “For nearly costing our grade in this project. I screwed up so badly.” The blond boy sighed. Capping his pen shut before he pushing over the report to the side.

    “All I am good for is writing words on blank sheets of papers and nearly burning my hand at times,” Izumi confessed. “,I get it if you want to switch lab partners.”  Looking down to his hands and playing around with his thumbs as he spoke. Getting something plotting on his back. Surprising Izumi as he gushed red again. Turning to Hinata, who gave a soft smile. having his hand on Izumi’s shoulders. 

 ‘’First off, you’re not only good for writing. I bet you are great at other things,” Hinata encouraged, causing Izumi to give a small smile. 

   ‘You’re just bad at science labs.” Hinata joked. Sitting down next to him.

  ‘’But that could always be fixed,” The dark haired boy mumbled. Looking off to the distance, away from Izumi as he thought over his words. “We could meet up and work on them, to be honest.” 

  “Sure!”

   Izumi blushed pink, holding his hands together. Biting the inside of his cheek, from stopping himself from smiling so widely.

 ‘’I mean- that w-would be great, r-really.” He strutted. Looking down at the black table. Trying not to make eye contract with Hinata. Since looking at him would make Izumi overheat with blush and warmth.

   “GREAT!” 

   “So it’s a date!” Hinata yelped. Grinning ear to ear. “See you on Friday at the Science Lab at our lunch break then.”

   Before Izumi could asked anything else, the bell rang. Making Hinata race out of there quicker then anyone else in the room. 

   And be the only one there that broke Rule 5 in it.

     ‘Don’t leave the flame on’

 Which was what be did. Setting a flame in both their heart. One that will keep growing til Friday. When they will see each other again.

 Then, maybe, just maybe, they will start a bigger fire together. 

[wayneooverton]

The whale story continues: becoming marine mammal medic in Kaikoura

Four months ago my life was changed forever.

While hiking on a very remote part of Stewart Island, I stumbled upon a scene of horror at sunset, several pods of 150 pilot whales beaching themselves in the shallow surf. Far from help, we did all that we could, but they ultimately all died.

Their cries haunt my dreams and still wake me up at night. I have nightmares about their bodies left to the sands on that beach, all alone.

How could I not help them? Why couldn’t I save them?

The worst day of my life: finding 145 stranded whales in New Zealand

Us humans have done so much harm to our oceans but also have created so many impossible things and built so many incredible machines.

We’ve sent men to the moon and taken photos of a black hole for the first time. We have magical underwater internet cables all around the world. How could we not save some whales? How could I not even call for help?

We should have been able to save them.

It makes me SO FUCKING MAD that we only prioritize science for profit. Why don’t we dedicate the billions of dollars that go into military funding like underwater naval mock battles or seismic blasting in our oceans instead of trying to figure out why whales keep beaching themselves and how we can prevent it?

WE STILL DON’T HAVE THE ANSWERS. ok, all caps, I’m pissed. Calm down, Liz.

But seriously, look at those four photos I just shared above. That was hell. Taking those photos was hell and killed part of my soul. The only reason I even took a few images of the stranding was because I knew deep down that this would become part of my story, and I would need them down the road.

Part of me died that day on the beach with those whales, and caused a wound so deep I’m only starting to recover from it.

I never want to experience that fear, helplessness, anger and grief again. The ghosts of 150 beautiful pilot whales walk with me everyday: mothers, babies, brothers, sisters, fathers, all gone but not forgotten, at least to me.

My experience with the whales was a catalyst for a massive breakdown for me, in which all my issues with control and being able to handle situations exploded, rendering me almost useless for months.

I spiraled into a deep depression, pushing everyone away from me, wallowing and unable to get the most basic tasks done. I stopped sleeping again and became the poster child for a millennial burnout.

My exhaustion consumed me. I realized I couldn’t do it all, and I had to ask for help when I needed it, which I did.

So what can I do now? What does that have to do with whales, Liz?

Last weekend I took the first step to becoming stronger by becoming a marine mammal medic in Kaikoura with Project Jonah, a New Zealand charity that’s been saving whales since 1974. Alongside the Department of Conservation (DOC), they are dedicated to protecting marine mammals here in New Zealand.

Half of the world’s whales and dolphins species are found in New Zealand, and there is a high rate of strandings here, averaging over 300 per year. They need our help.

New Zealand is a hotspot for whale strandings and has a handful of places where whales regularly strand, like on Stewart Island where I was and famously on Farewell Spit.

After my experience with the whales on Stewart Island, it was Project Jonah, DOC, and even the New Zealand police (!!) who looked after me, calling me and checking in on me when I was feeling blue. The support I received over those tough few weeks as I began to come to terms with my experience.

Once I began to feel better, I realized I had a difficult choice ahead of me: either ignore what I experienced with the whales and bury those horrible memories and move on with my life, or embrace the pain and use it as foundation to make a change in the world.

I am not one of those “airy-fairy” people who believes in fate or whatever *eye rolls* but honestly, I really think it was fate that put me on that beach with those whales. What are the chances someone was even there, let alone ME?!

Now I truly feel like it’s my duty now to share what I went through and do my part to make sure that no one is ever in my position again.

So I booked a flight to Christchurch, rented a car, and drove up to Kaikoura for the weekend, where I was able to attend one of Project Jonah’s marine mammal medic courses. Yes, it’s a thing.

With so many strandings happening every year, Project Jonah and DOC rely on trained volunteers (marine mammal medics) to help with the rescues and re-floating of stranded whales.

You spend the morning in the classroom learning about whales and dolphins and some of the reasons why they strand, along with the rescue techniques used at a stranding. In the afternoon, you’ll pull on a wetsuit and hit the beach for the practical part of the course, practicing what we’ve learned on life size inflatable whales and dolphins (filled with water to make them life-weight too) as well as using real rescue equipment on them.

By the end of Project Jonah Marine Mammal Medic course you’ll be trained to:

Assist in the rescue of stranded dolphins and whales

Act as a role model to untrained rescuers

After the course you’ll be issued with a marine mammal medic card and added to our national database for future stranding call-outs.

Be sure to subscribe to Project Jonah’s newsletter so you can sign up for the next course. I truly believe along with Project Jonah, that everyone person who lives in New Zealand should do this course and be better prepared for strandings.

It was so hard to relive those memories but now I feel one step closer to not being helpless and ignorant with strandings and I hope I can begin to do my part in saving and protecting these amazing creatures.

I realized that while I did a lot of things wrong when I stumbled across those whales on Stewart Island, like trying to grab them by their tails, I also realized I did the right thing by sending my partner at the time off running 20 kilometers to find DOC rangers.

I’m still coming to terms with the fact that there was nothing anyone could have done to save those whales I found, so many factors were not in their favor, mostly due to the sheer remoteness and access difficulty of where I found them, I feel a lot more secure in the knowledge I took away from this course that I can be of help in future strandings.

Which leads me to my next point – I need your help.

While I’ve always loved whales and marine mammals (I mean, what’s not to love? They are pretty incredible!) I now feel like whales are part of my story and I want to spend more time with them, and hopefully not just at whale strandings as a volunteer. I want to spend time with them in the water, learning about them and studying them.

Please if you know anyone who works with whales or dolphins or has experience in this area, scientists, biologists, rangers, or just fellow whale lovers, please let me know.

I’m really thinking about heading up to Tonga this winter to swim with the Humpback whales during their migration, but please let me know of other opportunities, places, books, movies, anything about whales where I can further my knowledge. And please connect me with fellow whale people!

Thank you and ngā mihi.

Liz xx

Report whale or dolphin strandings to the DOC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT or to Project Jonah 0800 4 WHALE

Do you spend time at the ocean and love whales and dolphins too? Is this something you’d be keen to learn more about? Share!

The post The whale story continues: becoming marine mammal medic in Kaikoura appeared first on Young Adventuress.

from Young Adventuress http://bit.ly/2G5rFup

[workofcer]

Saving the Lives of Life Savers

October 3, 2018

NYU Researchers and Major Urban Fire Departments Partner to Create Scenario-Based Simulation Training for Nationwide Firefighters

In celebration of Fire Prevention Week from October 7 – 13, 2018, we highlight NYU Fire Research Group’s impact in supporting the firefighters who risk their lives for us daily.

This year, people across the U.S. watched as destructive wildfires raged across California, Oregon, and Washington, and as the thousands of firefighters poured in from all over the country to help contain these fast-moving fires.

Though battling these wildland fires bears its own set of challenges compared to residential fires, firefighters must always strategize and coordinate their efforts to effectively manage a fire from spreading — no matter the location — while also ensuring their own safety.

Yet, researchers at the Fire Research Group at NYU Tandon School of Engineering discovered that many fire departments lack the resources and budget to train their firefighters in the latest advanced firefighting methods emerging out of research centers and from scientific studies.

ALIVE (Advanced Learning through Integrated Visual Environments) is a decades-long effort to bridge the information gap between research and real-life firefighting. Developed by the Fire Research Group under the leadership of Dr. Sunil Kumar, ALIVE is an online, scenario-based simulation training program created by a team of NYU Tandon Mechanical Engineering faculty and scientists working to disseminate firefighting tactics and research-based information to urban and rural fire departments. It is funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG).

Spearheaded by Dr. Prabodh Panindre, a Senior Research Scientist and Adjunct Mechanical Engineering Faculty at NYU Tandon, ALIVE’s interactive online modules train firefighters in diverse firefighting issues such as residential fires, wind-driven high-rise fires, firefighter health and safety, and fire scenarios. Its latest module — Wildland Fires — focuses on training firefighters to manage and coordinate their attack methods on wildfires.

Culling together research, expertise from multiple fire departments and experts, and insight from national organizations such as the Underwriters Laboratories (UL), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Forest Service, the modules provide firefighters, including part-time and volunteer firefighters, with life-saving and critical information on combating various types of fires.

The modules are engaging, adaptive, data-driven, and live — allowing departments to understand where more training is needed in specific areas. The online training teaches critical firefighting concepts, and lets users immediately apply what they’ve learned to realistic scenarios and quizzes. Even if you select the wrong answer, the program explains why an answer is or isn’t the most effective way to address a situation based on scientific research, reinforcing the best actions for firefighters when they’re out in the field.

Fighting Fire with Scientific Evidence-Based Learning

“When we first started the project, it was centered on training the FDNY on high-rise fires,” Panindre explains. After seeing the positive response, the team behind ALIVE spent three years researching its effectiveness on a national scale and discovered that firefighters retained more information using ALIVE’s online modules versus the traditional classroom training. “Now, more than 75,000 firefighters from all 50 states have gone through our training modules. More than 1,000 departments are incorporating these modules into their own training programs,” shares Panindre.  

One such department is the Houston Fire Department, which has been an ALIVE partner for many years and incorporates the ALIVE modules into their classroom training.

Senior Captain Jeffery King of the Houston Fire Department (HFD), a partner with ALIVE and NYU Fire Research Group, knows the importance of disseminating advanced firefighting research to fellow firefighters, having lent his expertise to ALIVE’s module development for Residential Fires and Fire Scenarios. He shared that HFD’s continuing education program trained their whole department in August 2018 with the Fire Scenarios module, and currently all of its members are using the cardiovascular health module.

“In the last 15 to 20 years, we have learned more about the science of firefighting, a better understanding of how to do our job, and more about the physiological impact of firefighting – one of those being cardiovascular health,” King says. “The health and safety of each firefighter is paramount to a department’s success. Getting this information out to firefighters through the module is absolutely critical. NYU has done a phenomenal job of taking difficult information and putting it into a format that is easily understandable, deliverable to the people in the fire service, and in a means that can impact what’s going on every day in fire departments.”

“Around 50-60% of firefighters die of cardiac events,” Dr. Kumar explains. “Using scientific data and interviews, our module explains how cardiac arrest occurs, the impact of firefighting gear and hot environments upon their health, signs and symptoms, and how to prevent cardiac problems in fire service.”

Managing Destructive Wildfires

ALIVE is currently unveiling its new wildland fire module. Aimed to help first responders and initial incident attack commanders effectively manage wildland fires, the module addresses the unique challenges of wildland fires due to their erratic behavior, more difficult terrain, and dangerous environmental conditions. The NYU Fire Research Group partnered with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Los Angeles County Fire Dept. (LACoFD), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), and Barona Fire Department (BFD) in developing the module.

Nationwide wildland fire experts provided insight into the critical issues and training points, including Former Battalion Chief for Cal Fire Pete Scully. With over 33 years of active service battling wildfires, Scully tapped into his vast knowledge and own experiences to distill the best information into the module.

“I thought back to areas where I made mistakes, and my own first-hand experiences as a chief officer regarding how incidents were or weren’t properly managed,” he says. “Wildland fires can be very intimidating, and often when someone first arrives on the scene that isn’t experienced, they don’t take the time to manage and size up the big picture of the situation. Often, opportunities are missed. They might be focusing on where the most smoke or most flames are, but that’s not really where the most efficient use of resources is. This module is designed to get firefighters thinking about managing an incident properly and efficiently.”

Both Scully and Panindre agree that ALIVE’s modules are not meant to replace classroom training, but rather to supplement and complement training programs within a fire department, and help volunteer firefighters gain more training.

Emphasizing ALIVE’s accessibility, Panindre explained that “70% percent of the nation’s fire service are smaller, rural fire departments, yet they don’t have the budget or resources of larger departments like FDNY. We tried to focus on helping those firefighter departments who have few firefighters and resources, but want to increase their training. We make sure we can reach them through our modules.”

All ALIVE training modules are free for all firefighters and fire departments. Firefighters can access the free training modules on the Fire Research Group’s website, and through mobile applications. Fire departments interested in offering ALIVE training to their members can register by emailing the NYU Fire Research Group at fire.research@nyu.edu.

Originally published at: https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/saving-lives-life-savers

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1202

Monday, February 26, 2018

 Way to go all the Canadian athletes that competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics. You made us proud. Now we get ready for some March Madness. It might seem like I'm a big sports fan but I'm not. It's just that it's less annoying than a lot of the stuff happening around the world these days. Sure I was sad when the Canadian Women's curling team skipped by Ottawa's Rachel Homan didn't make it to the medal rounds and the Canadian Women's hockey team lost the gold medal game in a shoot-out but I didn't get angry and upset. No one was killed by some idiot.

 Archie #28 - Mark Waid & Ian Flynn (writers) Audrey Mok (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I only keep reading this book because Betty is in it. I don't like the walking disaster area that is Archie. Nor the smug Jughead. I really hate that big fat jerk Reggie who should be someone's plaything in prison. The fact that I feel so strongly about these characters means that the creators are putting out a very good comic book but I would stop reading if there weren't any likable characters. Classic Catch 22.

 Doctor Strange: Damnation #1 - Nick Spencer & Donny Cates (writers) Rod Reis (art & colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Stephen may not be Sorcerer Supreme anymore but he's still pretty powerful. Remember how Las Vegas was destroyed during a recent mega crossover? Well now the whole city plus its citizens is back on terra firma. Guess where it's been before being resurrected? Hey, they don't call it Sun City for donuts. There's a glitch in Doc Strange restoring all those lives and landmarks and that's where this 4-issue mini takes off. This is a high stakes game between the Doc and Mephisto and the players will be familiar to Marvel Zombies far and wide. Doc's team is on the cover but you'll have to read this first issue to see who's playing for Mephisto.

 The Brave and the Bold #1 - Liam Sharp (writer & art) Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colours) A Larger World's Troy Peteri (letters). DC's old team-up title is back on the racks with a murder mystery featuring Batman and Wonder Woman. There's a strong fantasy element since the murder takes place in Tir Na Nog, the mystical land of faerie. Liam Sharp drew me back into reading Wonder Woman when he did the Cheetah story and here he gets to go all Irish myths for us with runes and rugged faeriescapes. I like a murder mystery as well as the next Batfan but the profuse flowery prose turned me off. It's a tough decision whether I read the rest of this 6-issue story because I really love the art.

 Mata Hari #1 - Emma Beeby (writer) Ariela Kristantina (art) Pat Masioni (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). This 5-issue mini comes from Dark Horse's Berger Books imprint. I'm glad Karen is still editing comic books. I met her at a DC Retailer's conference over twenty years ago. I was lucky enough to share a group dinner table with her at a steak house in Fort Worth, Texas. I can still remember how happy I was when I asked if I could order a second steak dinner after the first one failed to fill me up and she gave me the go ahead. She thought I had a hollow leg. This book is beautifully drawn but I found the storytelling a little confusing with it's jumping back and forth in time to show us how the lady spy ended up in her current situation. Mata Hari is a very compelling historical figure so I will keep reading this to learn more about her life and death.

 Infinity Countdown Prime #1 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Flip the cover and you get an info page quickly telling you about the 6 Infinity Stones and what powers they bestow to whoever possesses them. The story starts promisingly enough with the guy who is the best at what he does fighting off some bad guys and then the new Sorcerer Supreme, for the Infinity Stone that he has. Unfortunately the story deteriorated for me when it came to introducing the other stones. It got way too convoluted what with other dimensions involved and what looks like every dang super hero and super villain to ever exist thrown in. I think I have mega event fatigue. Keeping up with the weekly Avengers: No Surrender story with all those heroes and villains to keep straight makes trying to follow this massive story harder to do. I hope nobody dies.

 Batman: Sins of the Father #1 - Christos Gage (writer) Raffaele Ienco (art) Guy Major (colours) Josh Reed (letters). This 6-issue mini is based on the Batman: The Telltale Series video game with a different back-story than the Batman that we are all familiar with. This Batman's father, Thomas Wayne, was a villain who experimented on people. Bruce is trying to right that wrong and save Wayne Enterprises. You can expect lots of action and the first protagonist is easily recognised. I was super impressed with the art here. Kind of reminded me of Frank Quitely. If the rest of this story looks this good it will be a joy to read.

 Hit-Girl #1 - Mark Millar (writer) Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (art) Sunny Gho (colours) Melina Mikulic (letters). Hot on the heels of the new Kick-Ass book is this 4-issue mini featuring Dave's old partner Mindy. She's looking for a new partner and who she picks is a real winner. This story goes international as the purple-haired perp pulveriser goes to Colombia to deal with the gangs there. I want to see if her new sidekick survives.

 Avengers #681 - Al Ewing, Jim Zub & Mark Waid (writers) Kim Jacinto with Mike Perkins (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). No Surrender part 7. It's Kree Captain Glah-Ree's turn to narrate an issue as his Lethal Legion team fights the Falcon's Avengers team for the prize. Some surprise characters pop up right at the end that will make fans clamour for the next issue. Mike Perkins's pages were only subtly different from the rest of the art and that surprised me too.

 Batman #41 - Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin (art) June Chung (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Everyone Loves Ivy part 1. I was naïve to think that Joelle Jones was the best artist for this book because there are lots of artists that I love out there. Mikel Janin made me gasp after I flipped open the cover and saw the first page. Page 10 made me sigh. His Poison Ivy will haunt your dreams. The Cat and the Bat face a daunting challenge in this new story. This is a great issue to start to find out why I've been raving about this title every issue.

 Moonshine #7 - Brian Azzarello (writer) Eduardo Risso (art & colours) Cristian Rossi (colour assistant) Jared K. Fletcher (letters). Boy was I surprised when this issue hit the racks. I thought #6 finished the story of Lou Pirlo, mob enforcer. Plus, it's been almost a year since #6 came out. This supernatural tale continues with the location changing from the hillbilly hills to New Orleans. I'm thinking some voodoo be due.

 Superman #41 - James Robinson (writer) Ed Benes (art) Dinei Ribeiro (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The Last Days part 2. I was tolerating this story about Superman and a native scientist trying to save a planet from a Jonestown massacre until the science guy explains how he's going to save his species. He sure didn't take any genetics classes. I do not suffer foolish science gladly. The good news is that this story is over and Jon learns a lesson in tolerance.

 Defenders #10 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Ah Jessica, Luke, Danny and Matt, we hardly got to know you. I don't know if this team book will continue after this but it won't be the same. This sure looks like Brian Michael Bendis's last issue. David Marquez  made me sigh on page 11 panel 5. I'm glad Felicia is okay.

 Incredible Hulk #713 - Greg Pak (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Return to Planet Hulk part 5. Hulk faces off with the Warlord in the fifth and final gauntlet. The final page had me singing Chuck Berry's Maybellene in my head. Now that we've gone back to Sakaar it's time to revisit another old Hulk story. Get ready for World War Hulk II.

 Damage #2 - Tony S. Daniel & Robert Venditti (storytellers) Danny Miki (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). I can't say that I am enamoured of the title character since he's just a one hour Hulk but the guest stars are worth the read. Here we have the Suicide Squad and next up is a real hero that I am certainly interested in.

 Amazing Spider-Man #796 - Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Terry Pallot & Cam Smith (inks) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Threat Level: Red part 3. The art and writing this issue was very wooden to me. Kind of stiff and predictable. I don't like Peter and Mary Jane getting cozy again either. If it wasn't for what's happening to Norman Osborn I would consider benching this book.

 Super Sons #13 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Carlo Barberi (pencils) Art Thibert (inks) Gabriel Eltaeb (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The Parent Trap part 1. Damian's mom, Talia al Ghul, needs his help for a hit and she's not going to take no for an answer. The boys find themselves in even more trouble when one of the targets is revealed. Robin and Superboy's friendship may not survive. As much as I love Carlo's art I wasn't happy that Talia looks more like Damian's slightly older sister than his mother.

 Astonishing X-Men #8 - Charles Soule (writer) Paulo Siqueira (pencils) Walden Wong & Roberto Poggi (inks) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). A Man Called X part 2. Y'know, I don't think that the guy in Fantomex's body is Charles Xavier. He keeps saying trust me, I can fix this and then he screws things up royally. So, another comic book with amazing art. Psylocke made me sigh on page 3.

 Mighty Thor #704 - Jason Aaron (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The Death of the Mighty Thor continues. Wow, I snagged a larger than usual pile of comic books off the rack to read last week and inadvertently saved the best 'til last. The writing and art was as powerful as can be. The build up to the last page made it a spine tingling experience. This story is going to be another highly recommended collection when it comes out in trade paperback.